A Psychiatrist's Journey

A candid memoir by Brian Barraclough (1933-2025), whose life was divided between New Zealand and the UK and who is best known for his research on psychiatric and social aspects of suicide. Brian grew up on Auckland's North Shore. His ambition to become a doctor resulted from being treated for tuberculosis when he was 17. After graduating from the University of Otago he practised medicine in Christchurch Hospital and psychiatry in Dunedin Hospital, then sailed to England as a ship's surgeon. He joined the world's foremost postgraduate training programme for psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London, working with some of the most eminent psychiatrists of the day. He had holidays in Europe, a year of psychoanalysis, and a bad trip with LSD.

After leaving the Maudsley, Brian became a scientific officer in the Medical Research Council unit at Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester, where he conducted his studies on suicide. The final years of his career were spent as senior lecturer in the University of Southampton's department of psychiatry, combining academic work with clinical practice. After 38 years in England he retired and returned to Auckland, where he carried out research on medical history alongside a range of leisure interests.