Reminiscences of Spencer Eth : oral history, 2002.

Biographical Note

Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, New York Medical College; Senior Vice President and Medical Director, Behavioral Health Services, St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York.

Scope and Contents

Born in Manhattan, raised in Los Angeles; family background: parents, wife, children; education: New York University, medical school at University of California at Los Angeles, Oxford University Rhodes Scholar; career: volunteer at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, work in general psychiatry, work in adult psychiatry at Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, work in child psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles, junior faculty member at Los Angeles University of Southern California Medical Center, case study work in child trauma, case study work in Vietnam War veterans, work in forensic psychiatry, began at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York in 1997, general overview of current work and responsibilities; career reflection: initial interest in child psychiatry, gradual changes in mental health field, work in forensic psychiatry, work before 9/11; September 11th: personal reflection, emergency response at St. Vincent, preparation for victims, description of patients, immediate crisis counseling, patient treatment, use of prescription drugs, condition of staff; programs implemented: Integrative Stress Management, program overview; work during 9/11 aftermath: handling of media, additional treatment of familes, additional treatment of rescue workers, setup of additional counseling space, transition from emergency treatment to treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]; PTSD: methods of diagnosis in emergency situation, initial treatment, long-term treatment, programs available to patients, funding for PTSD treatment programs: effect on children: school evacuations, school relocations, methods of treatment and counseling; 9/11 PTSD treatment to specific groups: HIV/AIDS patients, corrections officers, firemen, Port Authority police officers; effect on mental health field: iteration of field's importance, de-stigmatization; personal comment and speculation: recovery of New York City, response of New York schools, coordination of city response teams, effects of media exposure post-9/11; impact on personal life.

Subjects

• Eth, Spencer, 1950---Interviews.
• Hilboldt, Lise, interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Interviews.
• New York Medical College. Department of Psychiatry--Faculty--Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Psychiatrists--Interviews.
• September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001--Personal narratives.
• September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001.

Access Conditions

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