When Healing Harms Book Talk: Osheroff vs Chestnut Lodge

Peerless Rockville presents a book talk with author Eric Caplan about *When Healing Harms: Osheroff vs. Chestnut Lodge*. The program examines the case of Dr. Raphael Osheroff, a physician who challenged Chestnut Lodge, a renowned psychiatric hospital, after his severe depression was treated with extended talk therapy while medication was withheld.

In 1979, Osheroff entered the hospital expecting expert care but spent seven months in a locked ward, lost significant weight, became physically debilitated, and emerged unable to perform basic tasks such as using utensils. After his parents arranged a transfer to another hospital, he received the antidepressants he needed, but his marriage, medical practice, and reputation had already suffered. He subsequently sued Chestnut Lodge in a groundbreaking case that forced psychiatry to confront the limits and consequences of its prevailing treatment methods. Drawing on court records, medical files, legal archives, correspondence, recorded testimony, and interviews, Caplan explores how the hospital’s failure was understood, contested, and represented over the decades, as well as how the case influenced the treatment of seriously ill psychiatric patients.

When: October 7, 2026

Showtimes: The talk begins at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: Peerless Rockville members pay $5; nonmembers pay $10.

Presenter: Peerless Rockville

Speaker: Eric Caplan, author of *When Healing Harms*

Ages: The event is listed in the Adults category.

Run time: Not provided.

Venue: Historic Red Brick Courthouse, 29 Courthouse Square, Rockville, Maryland 20850.

Accessibility: No accessibility information is currently available for this event.

Contact: Peerless Rockville can be reached at (301) 762-0096 or info@peerlessrockville.org.

Website: Tickets and additional event information are available through the event’s Eventbrite listing.