Elizabeth Valentine, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, reveals the life and impact of one of the country’s leading psychotherapy pioneers, Dr Jessie Murray.

This talk was recorded and is available to view again on https://youtu.be/Lp3yx-Yq3xI

Jessie Murray (1867-1920) was the co-founder and moving spirit behind the Medico-Psychological Clinic, the first public clinic in Britain to offer psychoanalytic therapy and training – albeit somewhat unorthodox by later standards. The Clinic existed in London from 1913 to 1923, opening at Murray’s house in Endsleigh Street, later moving to Brunswick Square. Despite her importance, Murray, who was a medical doctor and suffragist, is not very well known. Even less is known about her close friend and collaborator, Julia Turner. 

Archival sources at the British Library, the Wellcome Library, the Museum of London and the Women’s Library will be used to provide a portrait of Murray. Elizabeth will discuss the role of the suffragist movement in providing crucial contacts for setting up the Clinic, Murray’s relationship with Marie Stopes and how she came to write the preface to Married Love, and reasons for the premature demise of the Clinic. She will conclude with some observations about the Clinic’s heritage and reflections on the subsequent development of psycho-analysis in Britain.