Coerced encounters: A critical history of the social therapy unit at Oak Ridge maximum security psychiatric hospital, 1965-1979

Andrew’s project interrogates the history of the Social Therapy Unit at the Oak Ridge Maximum Security Psychiatric Hospital in Penetanguishene, Ontario. The Canadian psychiatrist Elliot Barker designed the Social Therapy Unit in 1965 to treat patients diagnosed with psychopathy. To break through psychological defenses and generate experiences of empathy, Barker employed techniques from humanistic psychology, including encounter therapy, nude psychotherapy, and hallucinogenic drug therapy. While government officials initially praised the program, patients later sued Barker and the provincial government. In 2020, the Superior Court characterized the program as assault and battery.

Andrew’s project provides the first detailed academic history of these experiments. Despite their significance, they have received little historical attention. Consequentially, public and scholarly awareness comes mostly from sensationalistic media portrayals. Using methods from history of science, Mad Studies, and critical prison studies, his project traces the scientific, ethical, and institutional developments that enabled Barker’s program.