Televising Psyche: Therapy, Play, and the Seduction of Video

In 1967, an experimental therapeutic clinic opened in San Francisco. Called the “Hippie Drug Ward,” it sought to cure a wayward generation through an immersive multimedia environment. Examining archival records only recently made available, this paper explores the way the moving image—and in particular videotape—created a space in which style, affect, and psyche became commingled.