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The collections in the APA Archives date primarily from the mid-20th Century onward. The Archives is available to staff and members who need historical information to conduct APA business or for other research purposes. As Library staff time and resources permit, access to archival materials is also granted to qualified researchers exploring the history of the APA or American psychiatry in general.
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Request Permission to Quote or Use Material from the Archives
Association Governance
The records of the APA Council (now the Board of Trustees), established in 1891, are held from 1944 to present. The earlier history of the Association may be found in the "Official Actions" and other relevant sections of The American Journal of Psychiatry and its predecessor, The American Journal of Insanity, which are available from Volume 1 (1844) to present through online subscription to the Psychiatry Legacy Collection. See the fnding aids for APA governance bodies for more detailed information.
APA Departments & Projects
In addition to governance records, there are collections from the tenures of two long-serving APA Medical Directors, Walter Barton, M.D., and Melvin Sabshin, M.D., as well as several collections for APA departments and projects. For example, the Archives contains approximately 35 linear feet of materials related to the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersTM covering the DSM-III and DSM-III-R editions (materials related to the DSM-IV are slated to be transferred from the APA Office of Research to the archives in summer 2012). Earlier editions of the DSM are available via PsychiatryOnline.com (see subscription options).
Manuscripts
The Archives houses the manuscripts/personal papers of several prominent 20th Century psychiatrists as well as other influencial mental health advocates. There are also a few small collections related to other organizations such as the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the Association of Mental Health Clergy, and the Washington Psychiatric Society.
Papers of Individuals
Papers of Organizations
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APA History
- Brief Chronology of the History of APA and American Psychiatry
- American Psychiatric Association: History of the District Branches and of the District Branch Assembly. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1966.
- Barton WE: The History and Influence of the American Psychiatric Association. Washington, D.C., American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1987. [LOCK]
- Baxter WE., Hathcox III DW: America's Care of the Mentally Ill: A Photographic History. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 1994.
- Dickstein LJ, Nadelson CC: Women Physicians in Leadership Roles. Washington, DC : American Psychiatric Press, 1986.
- Hall TK (gen. ed.): One Hundred Years of American Psychiatry. New York, Columbia University Press for the American Psychiatric Association, 1944. [LOCK]
- Menninger RW, Nemiah JC: American Psychiatry After World War II, 1944-1994. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press, 2000.
- Obenauf WH: The District Branch of the APA: Its Origin, Present Status, and Future Developments. Am J Psych 1959; 416-422.
- Sabshin M: Changing American Psychiatry: A Personal Perspective. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2008.
Oral Histories
APA Ethics Archive
Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry
Opinions of the Ethics Committee on The Principles of Medical Ethics
APA Practice Guidelines Archive
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