Rediscovering Harold Bridger: his life, work and legacy.

Since 1989 the Planned Environment Therapy Archives have been unique in their remit to capture and preserve the records of therapeutic communities and care.

In 2002 the Archives acquired the papers of the psychoanalyst Harold Bridger. The collection spans the whole of Bridger’s career, from his pioneering work as the Commanding Officer at the Second Northfield Experiment, through his role as a founding member of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, and on to his groundbreaking work concerning team dynamics in the workplace.

Bridger’s papers have enormous research potential in the fields of psychiatry, psychology and sociology as well as the history of medicine, economics and social reform.

The project will look to address the under-use of Bridger’s Archive by cataloguing the collection to international standards, identifying and carrying out preservation work, and promoting the collection.

To achieve this, a Project Archivist will be appointed to appraise, arrange and describe the materials. During the project, the post holder will carry out basic preservation to support long term use of the collection, and will oversee the digitisation of obsolete media. The Project Archivist will promote the collection by creating a network of stakeholders and attending relevant conferences and events