William S. Sadler
1875–1969 · American surgeon and psychiatrist, author of over forty books
William Samuel Sadler (Spencer, Indiana, 1875 – Chicago, 1969) was an American surgeon and largely self-taught psychiatrist. He is best known for his link to The Urantia Book, though his medical and popular writing covered far more ground.
With little formal schooling, he worked as a teenager at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where John Harvey Kellogg became his mentor. In 1897 he married Lena Celestia Kellogg, Kellogg's niece, and the couple practiced medicine in Chicago. In 1910 he spent a year in Europe studying with Sigmund Freud. Later he drew on Freud, Jung, Adler and Meyer, and in 1936 he published Theory and Practice of Psychiatry, a work of some 1,200 pages.
According to his own account, between 1906 and 1911 he treated a patient who, while asleep, claimed to be an extraterrestrial. Sadler observed him for years and concluded he had no mental illness. The material that emerged from these sessions was later published as The Urantia Book, and the Urantia Foundation was formed to spread it, although who wrote it remains unknown. Sadler also promoted eugenic and racist ideas that are rejected today.
Key ideas
- Eclectic psychiatry: he applied techniques from Freud, Jung, Adler and Meyer depending on the case.
- Faith and mental health: he believed prayer and religious faith supported mental balance, provided that faith was not rooted in fear.
- Psychiatric training for clergy: he argued that pastors should be able to recognize the symptoms of mental illness in their congregations.
Books to read
- The Mother and Her Child EnglishGutenberg
Curiosities
Work at the sanitarium
As a teenager he worked at the Battle Creek Sanitarium as a bellhop and kitchen helper.
A pioneering house
His Art Nouveau home on Diversey Parkway was reportedly the first steel-frame residence in Chicago.
Original Filopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.