It was considered a necessary ingredient for sound diagnosis, and to aid the patients in their "social adjustment" back to their communities after release from care.
[1] With financial support from the Permanent Charity Fund of Boston and the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which Southard headed, the training course began in July of 1918 with sixty-three students.
Mary C. Jarrett, who was chief of social services at Boston Psychopathic Hospital, and one of the founders of the emergency trainings held in 1918, was appointed as the associate director.
[2] The eight-week didactic program was held on the Smith College campus with clinical demonstrations taking place in the Northampton State Hospital for the Insane.
Students then went on to six months of practical training in hospitals and social agencies in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore.