Loren Mosher

Loren Richard Mosher (September 3, 1933, Monterey, California – July 10, 2004, Berlin) was an American psychiatrist, clinical professor of psychiatry, expert on schizophrenia

Progressively vocal in his opposition to the prevailing psychiatric practices of the time and the increasing reliance on pharmaceuticals for treatment, Mosher managed to anger and isolate himself from many of his colleagues at the National Institute of Mental Health, and was finally dismissed from his position in 1980.

Biography Loren Mosher was born on September 3, 1933, in Monterey, California, to the married couple of a teacher and boat builder.

The house, known as Soteria, was opened in an area of San Jose, California, in April 1971. ), the Soteria Project closed in 1983 when, according to Loren Mosher and Robert Whitaker further funding was denied because of the politics of psychiatry that were increasingly controlled by the influence of pharmaceutical companies.

Mosher is said to have had a far more nuanced view of the use of drugs than has been generally thought, and did not reject drugs altogether but insisted they be used as a last resort and in far lower doses than usual in the United States. ), he taught psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda and became the head of the public mental health system in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Mosher edited or co-authored some books, including Community Mental Health: A Practical Guide, and published more than 100 reviews and articles. He held professorships and ran mental health programmes on both the US coasts.

In 1996, he left Washington for San Diego.