Oral History Project

For a decade, Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry volunteers mined the trove of history from psychiatrists in our state. The result is a group of fascinating stories about psychiatrists from different backgrounds who entered a career path that brought them to Maryland. Each oral history is less than an hour long. The distinguished psychiatrists who were interviewed include:

  • Erwin Bacmeister, M.D.
  • Marianne Benkert, M.D.
  • Joseph S. Bierman, M.D.
  • William T. Carpenter, Jr., M.D.
  • Irvin H. Cohen, M.D.
  • Robert W. Gibson, M.D.
  • Mayer C. Liebman, M.D.
  • Gordon S. Livingston, M.D.
  • Stanley S. Platman, M.D.
  • Jonas R. Rappeport, M.D.
  • Pearl H. Scholz, M.D.
  • Clarence G. Schulz, M.D.
  • Steven S. Sharfstein, M.D.
  • Lex B. Smith, M.D.
  • John A. Talbott, M.D.
  • Irving J. Taylor, M.D.
  • Maurice J. Van Besien, M.D.
  • Barbara Young, M.D.

The oral history interviews and their transcriptions are archived at the Maryland Psychiatric Society office. Please call 410-625-0232 or email mfp@mdpsych.org to arrange a visit. A pdf copy of a single transcript is currently available by email. In the very near future we will be making many more of the interviews available through this website – both as audio files and as transcripts.

Several people graciously donated their time to help make this project a reality. We would like to thank Carol Allen, John Buckley, Jonas Rappeport, Art Hildreth and Lex Smith for conducting some of the interviews.

Although we have recorded a significant portion of the history of psychiatry in Maryland, there were many prominent psychiatrists who were not included in this phase. We would welcome individuals interested in continuing this effort. If you are interested, please call 410-625-0232 or email mfp@mdpsych.org.