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Office of William C. Menninger, M.D.

This black and white photograph shows Dr. Will's office in the original Menninger Clinic, the converted farmhouse. Dr. Will, his brother Dr. Karl, and his father Dr. C. F. Menninger established the Menninger Clinic as a sanitarium in 1925 with the purchase of a farm house and admittance of 12 patients. Their philosophy was that mental illness could be treated with an integrated medical, psychodynamic, and developmental approach for the total health of patients

Anna Freud lecturing at the Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas

Anna Freud lectures at the Menninger School of Psychiatry 20th reunion. Karl Menninger, MD, is joining her in laughter. Menninger is a leading psychiatric hospital dedicated to treating individuals with mood, personality, anxiety and addictive disorders, teaching mental health professionals and advancing mental healthcare through research. Once located in Topeka, Kansas, they relocated in 2003 to Houston, Texas.

Menninger School of Psychiatry 20th Reunion, Topeka, Kansas

William C. Menninger, M.D., is speaking at the Menninger School of Psychiatry 20th reunion opening luncheon. Karl A. Menninger, M.D., is seated on the left and Lawrence Kennedy, M.D., is in the center of the photograph. Dr. CF., and his sons, Dr. Karl and Dr. Will, formed a group psychiatry practice in 1919. The Menninger Clinic as a sanitarium was established in 1925 with the purchase of a farm house and admittance of 12 patients. Their philosophy was that mental illness could be treated with an integrated medical, psychodynamic, and developmental approach for the total health of patients

Karl Menninger, M.D., lecturing

Karl A. Menninger is shown lecturing Menninger School of Psychiatry residents.

Santa Fe clock presented to Menninger research department in Topeka, Kansas

Dr. Roy Menninger, Dr. Herb Klemmer and Dr. James Nelson and two unidentified men are examining a clock which the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad presented to the Menninger Research Department.

Elmer Ernest Southard correspondence

Southard, Elmer Ernest, 1876-1920

Elmer Ernest Southard's papers primarily consist of handwritten and typed letters he sent to Norman Fenton. Southard, the first Director of Boston Psychopathic Hospital, was Karl Menninger's first significant mentor. Southard and Fenton collaborated on researching case studies and publishing about shell shock in World War I. There is also a course syllabus for his second year neuropathology course at Harvard Medical School. These papers are part of the historic psychiatry material in the Menninger Archives.

Dr. Will Menninger viewing a patients' art show at Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas

A Creative Arts show was presented for many years to showcase the works of those involved in the Art Therapy activities. Menninger is a leading psychiatric hospital dedicated to treating individuals with mood, personality, anxiety and addictive disorders, teaching mental health professionals and advancing mental healthcare through research.

Martin Leichtman, PhD, the first J. Cotter Hirschberg professor at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas

This is a photograph of Roy Menninger, M.D. and J. Cotter Hirschberg, M.D. presenting Martin Leichtman, PhD with the first J. Cotter Hirschberg professorship. J. Cotter Hirschberg was a child psychiatrist at the Menninger Clinic. Dr. Hirschberg wrote many books for children with mental health themes.

Historic Psychiatry original miscellaneous documents

These are a variety of handwritten and typed letters, lectures, autographs, news clippings, biographical information, images and sketches, court documents, and other documents related to the history of psychiatry. These documents are housed in four boxes and the folders within are arranged alphabetically by surname or title, and they are included in the larger collection of historic psychiatry material in the Menninger Archives. Authors come from such fields as medicine, religion, prison and other reform and advocacy movements, politics, the military, etc. The documents themselves sometimes provide significant information, and sometimes they were collected because their authors were significant historical figures. Some of the individuals found in Box 1 include James Mark Baldwin, Ludwig Binswanger, Eugen Bleuler, Jean-Martin Charcot, Elizabeth Fry, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Carl Jung. Some of the individuals found in Box 2 include Alfred Adler, Robert Frost, and Washinton Irving. This box also includes a 68-page handwritten notebook by Dr. W.W. Reed entitled "Reminiscenses About the Treatment of the Insane." Some of the individuals found in Box 3 include Amariah Brigham and Frederick van Eeden. This box also includes a correspondence file (1883-1888) on Ellen Kehoe, a patient at the Worcester Lunatic Hospital in Massachusetts, and a series of drawings from the 1920s and 1930s by a Belgian patient suffering from paranoia named Andreas at the Kankakee State Hospital in Illinois. The drawings were donated by Dr. J.B. Gier, formerly of the Topeka Veteran's Administration Hospital, who knew the patient and encouraged his work. Box 4 includes a miscellaneous folder regarding insane asylums and contains legal documents, postcard images, and receipts for services. Languages include English, German, French and Italian, and transcriptions or translations follow some of the documents.

Karl Augustus Menninger

This is a photograph of Dr. Karl Augustus Menninger. He was born in Topeka, Kansas on July 22, 1893. He studied at Washburn College in Topeka, Indiana University, and the University of Wisconsin before finally graduating cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1917. Dr. Karl became interested in psychiatry and the mental health needs of children during his medical internship at Boston Psychopathic Hospital. Dr. Karl returned to Topeka and began practicing medicine with his father, Dr. Charles Fredrick Menninger; together the two opened the Menninger Diagnostic Clinic in 1919. By 1925, the two doctors started the Menninger Sanitarium, a private facility that served as an alternative to state hospitalization. After securing the services of Dr. William Claire Menninger, Karl's younger brother, the Menninger Foundation was created, offering a variety of mental health services and programs for both adults and children. Dr. Karl also helped to establish, with collaboration from the federal government, the Winter VA Hospital, whose potential as a training ground for students of psychiatry became the impetus for the creation of the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry. In 2003, the Menninger Foundation partnered with the Baylor College of Medicine and relocated to Houston, Texas. The Menninger Foundation archives, including Karl Augustus Menninger's collection, is now housed at the Kansas Historical Society.