# Harold Lawrence McPheeters

Harold Lawrence McPheeters (March 10, 1923 – January 14, 2021) was an American psychiatrist and a key figure in the field of human services, known as "the father of human services." He was born on March 10, 1923 in Manhattan. He served as the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Mental Health from 1957 to 1964. He died on January 14, 2021 at age 97.

## Quotes

* The occupation/profession that uses a blend of primarily psychological and sociological theories and skills in preventing, detecting, and ameliorating psychosocially dysfunctioning people and in helping them attain the highest level of psychological functioning of which they are capable.
** Howard Rosenthal (October 12, 2012). "Harold L. McPheeters". Human Services Dictionary.
** McPheeters defining the concept of "human services".

## Quotes about McPheeters

* A psychiatrist who has been dubbed the father of Human Services. Dr. McPheeters was born in 1923 in New York City and grew up in Garden City, NY, where he attended local public schools. He graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and then from Medical School at the University of Louisville. He was in the Army Specialized Training Pro-gram during World War II and then served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict. His residency training in psychiatry was also at the University of Louisville. He is board certified in Psychiatry and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He served as Assistant Commissioner and then as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Mental Health from 1955 to 1964 and as Deputy Commissioner for Program Administration of the New York Department of Mental Hygiene, 1964-1965. He then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he served for 22 years as Director of the Education Board, an interstate compact organization of the 15 southern states dedicated to improving higher education and services to the people of the region.
** Howard Rosenthal (October 12, 2012). "Harold L. McPheeters". Human Services Dictionary.
* Dr. McPheeters, who lives in Louisville, was appointed commissioner in January 1957 by former Governor A. B. Chandler and reappointed by Governor Combs last February. He came to Kentucky April 1955 as Assistant Commissioner of Mental Health. He had been assistant psychiatrist in a Schenectady, New York hospital. Besides his state job, Dr. McPheeters is an assistant professor of Psychiatry at the University of Louisville. A native of New York City he was educated in the public schools there, then attended the University of Kentucky. He holds a B.A. from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania and an M.D. from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. In connection with the U. of L. School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry, he was a resident for three years in Norton Memorial Infirmary. He served in the U. S. Navy as a psychiatrist from 1952-1954. He has published two articles in the Journal of the Kentucky State Medical Association, one about state hospital discharge procedures and another about psychiatry. Dr. McPheeters, 37, is married and has four children.
** "Mental Health Group Of Women's Club To Meet Friday At Lunch". Messenger-Inquirer. April 3, 1960.
* Harold Lawrence McPheeters was born in New York City to Harry Halstead and Ethel Louise (Brush) McPheeters on March 10, 1923. He died Thursday, January 14, 2021 in Snellville, Georgia. Harold was married to Phyllis Merrill for 58 years. She died in October 2010.
** "Harold McPheeters obituary". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 15, 2021.