The American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal seeks manuscripts for a special issue on
the History of Psychiatry. The history of psychiatry is textured and diverse. Histories of
“therapeutic” lobotomy, anti-psychiatry, insulin coma therapy, and drapetomania all reflect the
vibrant and challenged past of the field of psychiatry. To reflect this richness, we invite
submissions that relate to the history of psychiatry, broadly defined. For example, papers that
cover pivotal moments, key figures, interesting innovations, or exciting narratives would be
welcomed.

Below is a list of suggested article topics that would be appropriate for this special issue. It is
not an inclusive list, and other categories and article ideas will most certainly be considered.
Authors may submit articles that are not included in this list, but they should be in the scope of
the theme.

Please visit the Residents’ Journal website for detailed instructions on article types and word
limits: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/journal/ajp-rj

Individuals enrolled in accredited U.S. or Canadian medical schools, or residents and fellows in
U.S. or Canadian postgraduate training programs are eligible to submit manuscripts. We also
invite submissions from students/trainees in other academic or clinical fields including nursing,
physical/occupational therapy, psychology, etc.

We openly invite correspondence with authors throughout the development of an article. The
deadline for manuscript submission is September 15, 2020.

Thank you,
Matthew Edwards, MD
American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal
matthewedwardsmd@gmail.com

Christopher Magoon, MD
American Journal of Psychiatry Residents’ Journal

christopher.magoon@gmail.com

Suggested Article Topics
– Scholarly reviews of historical literature or original historical research using primary source
material such as oral histories or archival materials. Note that a narrower lens tends to be more
successful for original research.
– Commentary on how the events of the past shaped a present-day clinical encounter
– Commentary on how a past event continues to affect the field of psychiatry
– Book review discussing a work relevant to history of psychiatry (book can be fiction or
nonfiction)
– Poetry relevant to the history of psychiatry
– Medical education manuscripts discussing innovative history of psychiatry curricula
– History of psychiatry from a non-U.S. perspective (especially the non-Western world)
– History of a pivotal moment, movement, or person within psychiatry
– Narrative of a particular drug or therapeutic intervention’s development
– Narrative of how a particular cultural piece changed the public’s view of mental health
– History of psychiatry and the law, including historical criminal justice issues, or how case law,
statutes, or civil cases changed the landscape of mental health treatment
– Historical origins of the term “insanity”
– History of politics of mental illness (e.g., psychiatry and colonialism/post-colonialism)
– Historical contributions of women to psychiatry
– Historical contributions of racial, ethnic, and experiential minorities to psychiatry
– History of racism and psychiatric concepts (e.g., drapetomania, “protest psychosis”
dysaesthesia aethiopis, insanity and the “ring-shout” in African-American cultural traditions etc.)
– Asylum history
– Somatic therapies in the history of psychiatry (e.g., Benjamin Rush’s tranquilizer chair,
insulin coma, shock coma therapy, history of psychosurgery at George Washington University)
– History of organized psychiatry
– History of psychoanalysis
– History of “anti-psychiatry”
– Public perception of mental illness over time (e.g., shifts in the custodial care of persons with
mental illness from the family to the state)
– History of frameworks, models and formulations in psychiatry (e.g., biopsychosocial
formulation, cultural formulation, McHugh and Slavney’s “Perspectives of Psychiatry”)
– History of addictions and the origins of addiction psychiatry
– History of child and adolescent psychiatry