In the Pursuit of Mental Well-being: Robert H. Felix and His Role in the Establishment of Mental Health in America

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Dr. Lee’s talk will address mental well-being in mid-20th century America. Realizing the necessity of a comprehensive plan for mental health in the U.S. after World War II, the discipline of psychiatry found themselves unprepared for the new blueprint. To overcome the long-existing limits, psychiatry needed to transform its old look which had seemingly been esoteric, institution-based, and even unscientific. The National Mental Health Act of 1946 was a striking signal to break away from its unpopular image of discipline. Robert H. Felix, the first director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), was one of the significant players in determining the trajectory of the future mental health plan. This talk focuses on Dr. Felix’s role in the installation and formation of the country’s mental well-being and his philosophy on mental health itself based on the Robert H. Felix papers from the National Library of Medicine.