Leston Havens

Leston Havens
Born
Leston Laycock Havens

(1924-07-31)31 July 1924
New York City, New York
Died29 July 2011(2011-07-29) (aged 86)
Cambridge, Massachusetts[1]
EducationCornell Medical School
Known forPsychotherapy
Scientific career
FieldsPsychotherapy
WorkplacesHarvard Medical School

Leston Laycock Havens, MD (July 31, 1924–July 29, 2011) was an American psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.[2]

Dr. Havens is best known for his work on biological psychiatry, the rehabilitation of severely ill patients, and methods of interviewing patients.[3] He was also a pioneer in the establishment of hospital psychopharmacology units.

Early life

Havens was born on July 31, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York City,[4] where he also grew up.[1] His father was a lawyer, and Havens originally considered law as a career path before deciding on medicine.[1] When he entered Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, he studied English and history, as well as philosophy.[1] In 1944, during World War II, he joined the U.S. Army, serving until 1946.[4] He was stationed on Tinian, a captured Japanese island in the Pacific, where he located and detonated abandoned ammunition. After his discharge from the military, Havens completed his B.A. magna cum laude, in 1947.[4]

Academic life

Havens went on to attend Cornell Medical School, graduating with his M.D. in 1952.[1][4] He served as an intern in Internal Medicine at the New York Hospital and stayed there until 1954 as an assistant resident.[4] Havens completed his residency from 1954 to 1958 at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital (now the Massachusetts Mental Health Center).[1][4] This began a long connection with the Harvard University Medical School. In 1954, Havens was appointed as a Teaching Fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard and by 1971 was promoted to full professor status at Harvard Medical School.

While at Boston Psychopathic, Havens founded the Psychopharmacology Unit; one of the first in the country and one that would become famous. There he completed many studies on Electroconvulsive Therapy. Between 1964 and 1982 Havens directed the medical student clerkship at Boston Psychopathic.

From 1987 to 1996, Havens directed the psychiatry residency program at Cambridge Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. At Cambridge he was a beloved teacher and mentor who influenced the development of many psychiatrists and psychologists. He was an iconoclast and great patient advocate, teaching his students to listen and relate to their patients and not merely to categorize or pathologize them.[5]

Many of his lectures and recorded sessions are stored on the archived version of the Harvard Leston Havens M.D. Teaching Site.[6]

Works

Havens authored or coauthored over 150 publications, including seven books, at first centered around psychopharmacology and then later focused more around psychotherapeutic practice and technique.[2]

Making Contact

Making Contact: Uses of Language in Psychotherapy (1986)[7] explores the precise application of language in the therapy room. Susan Monsky of the Boston Globe described the book as “a basic grammar of empathy.” Havens breaks down three buckets of language: empathetic language—finding the other—interpersonal language—managing distance—and performative language—liberating the patient, a concept Havens borrows from JL Austin.

The suggested language, experienced by the patient as understanding, makes contact with what are abstractly understood to be drives and internal structures. Words bring abstract understanding into relationship with experience; the persons involved become the conveyance. The process is similar to what engineering does with scientific principles. It translates them through the medium of the physical world.

A Safe Place

A Safe Place: Laying the Groundwork of Psychotherapy (1989)[8] reviews the history of psychotherapy and psychiatry and discusses the conditions for therapeutic growth and healing.

Awards

Leston Havens received many awards throughout his career.[9]

  • 1952 Cornell University Medical School: Morton prize in Internal Medicine, Samuel prize in ophthalmology, Alpha Omega Alpha
  • 1958 A.E. Bennett Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
  • 1962 McCurdy Prize, Massachusetts Society for Research in Psychiatry
  • 1970 Fried Lecture, Newton-Wellesley Hospital
  • 1973 Who's Who in America
  • 1977 H.C. Solomon Award with Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D.
  • 1979 Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching, Harvard Medical School, plus numerous nominations
  • 1979 Elvin Semrad Teaching Award, Massachusetts Mental Health Center
  • 1981 Valentina Donahue-Turner Award for Teaching, Harvard Medical School
  • 1986 Harry Stack Sullivan Lecture, The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital
  • 1986 Honorable Bernard Towson-Lectureship in Psychiatry, Cornell North Shore Hospital
  • 1989 Frieda Fromm Reichman Lecturer, Washington Psychiatric Society
  • 1992 Price Lecture, Trinity Church, Boston, MA
  • 1995 Benjamin Rush Award and Lecture, American Psychiatric Association
  • 1995 Nomination for 1995 Harvard Medical School Award for Excellence in Mentoring
  • 1997 William F. Orr Lecture
  • 1997 Zigmond Lebensohn Lecture
  • 1998 Lee Hasenbush Lecture, MMHC
  • 1998 Jacob Finesinger Lecture, University of Maryland
  • 1999 Honorary Member, William Alanson White Institute, New York

Bibliography

Year Type Role Publication
1959 Journal Author "Changes in Catechol Amine Response to Successive Electric Convulsive Treatments"[10]
1961 Journal Author "Plasma Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels During Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia in Man"[11]
1963 Journal Coauthor "The Psychopharmacology of Phenothiazine Compounds: A Comparative Study of the Effects of Chlorpromazine, Promethazine, Trifluoperazine and Perphenazine in Normal Males"[12]
1963 Journal Author "The effect of competition on visual duration threshold and its independence of stimulus frequency"[13]
1965 Journal Author "The Anatomy of a Suicide"[14]
1966 Journal Author "Pierre Janet"[15]
1967 Journal Author "Karl Jaspers and American Psychiatry"[16]
1968 Journal Author "Some Difficulties in Giving Schizophrenic and Borderline Patients Medication"[17]
1973 Book Author Approaches to the Mind: Movement of the Psychiatric Schools from Sects Toward Science[18]
1974 Journal Author The Existential Use of the Self[19]
1976 Book Author Participant Observation: Uses of Language in Psychotherapy
1978 Journal Author "Explorations in the Uses of Language in Psychotherapy: Simple Empathic Statements"
1979 Journal Coauthor "Which Short-term Therapy? Matching Patient and Method"[20]
1979 Journal Author "The Therapeutic Alliance: Contemporary Meanings and Confusions"[21]
1979 Journal Author "Explorations in the Uses of Language in Psychotherapy: Complex Empathic Statements"[22]
1981 Journal Coauthor "The initial encounter: what to do first?"[23]
1980 Journal Author "Explorations in the Uses of Language in Psychotherapy"[24]
1986 Book Author Making Contact: Uses of Language in Psychotherapy
1986 Journal Author "A Theoretical Basis for the Concepts of Self and Authentic Self"[25]
1989 Book Author A Safe Place: Laying the Groundwork of Psychotherapy
1991 Journal Author "Paranoid Phenomena and Pathological Narcissism"
1993 Book Author Coming to Life: Reflections on the Art of Psychotherapy
1994 Book Author Learning to Be Human
1994 Journal Author "Psychotherapeutic Management Techniques in the Treatment of Outpatients With Schizophrenia"[26]
2000 Book Coeditor The Real World Guide to Psychotherapy Practice (coedited with Alex N. Sabo)
2001 Journal Author "Soundings: a psychological equivalent of medical percussion"[27]
2004 Journal Author "The Best Kept Secret: How to Form an Effective Alliance"[28]
2005 Journal Author "Existential despair and bipolar disorder: the therapeutic alliance as a mood stabilizer"[29]
2007 Journal Author "Approaching the mind in clinical interviewing: the techniques of soundings and counterprojection"[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marquard, Bryan (August 14, 2011). "Leston Havens, at 86; was noted psychiatrist, author". Boston Globe. boston.com. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  2. 1 2 "In Memoriam". Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 20 (3): 170. 2012-05-17. doi:10.3109/10673229.2012.694324. ISSN 1067-3229.
  3. 1 2 Havens, Leston (June 2007). "Approaching the mind in clinical interviewing: the techniques of soundings and counterprojection". The Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 30 (2): 145–156. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2007.02.005. ISSN 1558-3147. PMID 17643832.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Leston Laycock Havens." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, 2017-07-09.
  5. ↑ MD, Brian L. Ackerman (2026-06-15). "Beyond the Neurotransmitter: We Were Trained to See the Forest for the Trees | Psychiatric Times". www.psychiatrictimes.com. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  6. ↑ Lellman, Charlotte. "Research Guides: Audio and Video Recordings from the Leston Havens M.D. Teaching Site: Home". guides.library.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  7. ↑ "Making Contact — Harvard University Press". Harvard University Press. Archived from the original on 2025-12-14. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  8. ↑ "A Safe Place — Harvard University Press". Harvard University Press. Archived from the original on 2025-12-14. Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  9. ↑ Havens, Leston (21 June 2013). "C.V." Leston Havens MD.
  10. ↑ Havens, Leston L.; Zileli, M. Sheref; DiMascio, Alberto; Boling, Lenore; Goldfien, Alan (July 1959). "Changes in Catechol Amine Response to Successive Electric Convulsive Treatments". Journal of Mental Science. 105 (440): 821–829. doi:10.1192/bjp.105.440.821. ISSN 0368-315X. PMID 13852162.
  11. ↑ Havens, Leston (March 1, 1961). "Plasma Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels During Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia in Man". The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 21 (3): 296–304. doi:10.1210/jcem-21-3-296. PMID 13706513.
  12. ↑ "The Psychopharmacology of Phenothiazine Compounds: A... : The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease". LWW. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  13. ↑ "APA PsycNet". Archived from the original on 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  14. ↑ Havens, Leston L. (1965-02-25). "The Anatomy of a Suicide". New England Journal of Medicine. 272 (8): 401–406. doi:10.1056/NEJM196502252720806. PMID 14242516.
  15. ↑ "Pierre Janet: The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease". LWW. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  16. ↑ Havens, Leston L. (July 1967). "Karl Jaspers and American Psychiatry". American Journal of Psychiatry. 124: 66–70. doi:10.1176/ajp.124.1.66. PMID 5338021.
  17. ↑ Havens, L. L. (1968). "Some Difficulties in Giving Schizophrenic and Borderline Patients Medication: Psychiatry: Vol 31, No 1". Psychiatry. 31 (1): 44–50. doi:10.1080/00332747.1968.11023533. PMID 5637281.
  18. ↑ Havens, Leston L. (2005). Psychiatric movements : from sects to science. Internet Archive. New Brunswick (U.S.A.): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0840-0.
  19. ↑ Havens, Leston L. (January 1974). "The Existential Use of the Self". American Journal of Psychiatry. 131 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1176/ajp.131.1.1. PMID 4808428.
  20. ↑ Burke Jr, Jack D.; White, Henry S.; Havens, Leston L. (February 1979). "Which Short-term Therapy? Matching Patient and Method". Arch Gen Psychiatry. 36 (2): 177–186. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780020067007. PMID 420539.
  21. ↑ "Read - The Therapeutic Alliance: Contemporary Meanings and Confusions". pep-web.org. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  22. ↑ Havens, L. (1979). "Explorations in the Uses of Language in Psychotherapy: Complex Empathic Statements: Psychiatry: Vol 42, No 1". Psychiatry. 42 (1): 40–48. doi:10.1080/00332747.1979.11024005. PMID 760133.
  23. ↑ Margulies, A; Havens, L L (1981-04-01). "The initial encounter: what to do first". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 138 (4): 421–428. doi:10.1176/ajp.138.4.421. ISSN 1535-7228. PMID 7212099.
  24. ↑ Havens, Leston (1980-01-01). "Explorations in the Uses of Language in Psychotherapy: Counterprojective Statements". Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 16 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1080/00107530.1980.10745607. ISSN 0010-7530.
  25. ↑ Havens, Leston (1986-04-01). "A Theoretical Basis for the Concepts of Self and Authentic Self". Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. 34 (2): 363–378. doi:10.1177/000306518603400206. ISSN 0003-0651. PMID 3722701.
  26. ↑ Weiden, P.; Havens, L. (1994). "Psychiatry Online". Hospital & Community Psychiatry. 45 (6): 549–555. doi:10.1176/ps.45.6.549. PMID 7916318. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  27. ↑ Havens, L.; Vaillant, G. E.; Price, B. H.; Goldstein, M.; Kim, D. (2001). "Soundings: a psychological equivalent of medical percussion". Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 9 (4): 147–157. doi:10.1080/10673220127898. ISSN 1067-3229. PMID 11410538.
  28. ↑ Havens, Leston (2004-01-01). "The Best Kept Secret: How to Form an Effective Alliance". Harvard Review of Psychiatry. 12 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1080/10673220490279143. ISSN 1067-3229. PMID 14965855.
  29. ↑ Havens, Leston L.; Ghaemi, S. Nassir (April 2005). "Existential Despair and Bipolar Disorder: The Therapeutic Alliance as a Mood Stabilizer". American Journal of Psychotherapy. 59 (2): 137–147. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2005.59.2.137. PMID 16170918.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.