COHEN 197Acknowledgments
This paper grew out of the extensive series of interviews by Dr. G. Ingrid Farreras
of all current and many past staff members, and her preparation of a superb
history, of the Laboratory of Psychology. She stimulated all of us to recount the
ideas which motivated us as we struggled to establish the intramural research
program of the NIMH over fifty years ago. She called our attention to items
gleaned from her perusal of the Annual Reports, clarified and tactfully resolved
obscurities and inconsistencies.
There are two others who must be mentioned. Kety came to establish
the intramural research programs of the NIMH and the NINDB in 1951.
He represented the two institutes in all of the deliberations by which the NIH
operates, established the basic research programs for both institutes, and then
undertook the direction of a highly productive laboratory. For over two years,
he and I attended Felix’s biweekly staff conferences, and met weekly with John
Eberhart and Joseph Bobbitt. The formulation and operation of our respective
research programs were critically discussed in these settings. His 1960 paper,
“A Biologist Examines Mind and Behavior,” is a classic which is still relevant
and worth reading today. Even after he left the NIH for Harvard University,
his associates maintained a close relationship with him, and welcomed his return
in emeritus status.
Dr. John C. Eberhart served seven years as director of the extramural research
program in the early days of the institute. In that capacity he visited over 50
universities to stimulate the establishment of training programs in clinical
psychology. After seven years with the Commonwealth Fund, he returned to
the NIMH as director of the intramural research program. He knew and was
respected by major figures in all the foundations engaged in the support of medi
cal research. He came to be one of the most influential of the group of scientific
directors who governed the NIH for almost 20 years. He once remarked that
the early NIH leaders had limited personal but strong organizational ambition.
That was certainly true of him. He erased the gap between the basic and clinical
divisions. He and I began each morning in his office or mine; for the first time,
all of the laboratory chiefs met as a group.
Finally, I want to express my personal appreciation to Dr. Morris Parloff.
He is one of the first who came to the program in 1953. We worked together
on a study of psychotherapy before he went to the extramural program to devel
op and lead a nationwide study and evaluation of the various psychotherapies.
I have long valued his judgment and sought his opinion on organizational issues.
When Dr. Farreras called to talk about the early days, I immediately called him
to join us.