—ADLAI STEVENSON (1952)1 McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest mental hospitals in the United States, as it was founded in 1817, when a type of care known as moral therapy was being popularized by Quakers. Their belief was that a retreat for the mentally ill should be built in a pastoral setting, and even today the McLean campus, with its handsome brick buildings and shaded lawns, feels like an oasis. On the evening in August 2008 that I came there, in order to attend a meeting of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, that sense of tranquility was heightened by the weather. It was one of the most gorgeous nights of the summer, and as I approached the cafeteria where the meeting was to be held, I figured that attendance that night would be sparse. It was just too nice of a night to be inside. This was a meeting for people living in the community, which meant they would have to leave their homes and apartments to come here, and given that the McLean group met five times a week—there was an afternoon session every Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and an evening meeting every Wednesday—I reasoned that most people attached to the group would skip this one.
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