Laing, R. D. (Ronald David Laing) [key], 1927–89, British psychiatrist. After studying at Univ. of Glasgow (M.D., 1951), he taught there (1953–56), later moving to the Tavistock Clinic and Institute of Human Relations (1956–89) to conduct research on schizophrenia. He directed the Langham Clinic in London (1962–65), and founded a therapeutic community in which the hierachical distinction between physicians and patients was essentially eliminated. Laing maintained the controversial position that schizophrenia was a culturally conditioned, internal conflict, a reaction particularly to poor relations among family members. His works include The Divided Self (1960) and his autobiography, The Making of a Psychiatrist (1985).
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