Leston Havens


Leston Laycock Havens was an American psychiatrist, psychotherapist and medical educator.
Leston is best known for his work on biological psychiatry, the rehabilitation of severely ill patients, and methods of interviewing patients.. 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, where he also grew up. His father was a lawyer, and Havens originally considered law as a career path before deciding on medicine. When he entered Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, he studied English and history, as well as philosophy. In 1944, during World War II, he joined the U.S. Army, serving until 1946. 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.

Academic life

Havens went on to attend Cornell Medical School, graduating with his M.D. in 1952. He served as an intern in Internal Medicine at the New York Hospital and stayed there until 1954 as an assistant resident. Havens completed his residency from 1954 to 1958 at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital. 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. At Cambridge Hospital he was a beloved teacher and mentor who influenced the development of many young psychiatrists. He was an iconoclast and great patient advocate, teaching his students to listen and relate to their patients and not categorize or pathologize them.

Awards

Leston Havens received many awards throughout his career.