Practical psychology clubs Part 1

The beauty of writing about Loughborough’s local history is that I find myself investigating and researching all sorts of different areas, many of which I admit to knowing nothing about until starting the research! So, for example, previously, I’ve blogged about chrysanthemum shows; about agricultural and horticultural shows; about Luddites; about Zeppelins, and much more. Today I find myself blogging about psychology, again, something I knew very little about.

To be more accurate, I’m writing about practical psychology, so the development of self-help via the practical psychology clubs that grew up across the UK, and, eventually I shall investigate specifically the Loughborough club.

Apparently, practical psychology made its way to the UK after the First World War, with practical clubs becoming established around 1922, based around the work and beliefs of Anna Maud Hallam, from the US. By 1925, there were many such clubs in Britain, and a dedicated journal, called “Practical Psychologist”, and it was in the first issue of this journal that Anna Maud Hallam set out her definition of practical psychology, aiming to appeal to both practising Christians and humanists. Practical psychology was described as:

‘a scientific effort to unfold and understand the laws operating in human life’ and that, ‘This great study of human life brings new enlightenment, new education, new and clearer understanding of the phenomena of every-day life.’ Further, ‘[practical psychology] is an effort based upon unbiased investigation, research, experiment and observation, with just one motive underlying it – to assist the individual in knowing himself.’ (1)

The journal was, however, rather short-lived and was replaced in 1936 by “Practical Psychology”. By the end of the 1930s, there were over 50 practical psychology clubs, and it seems that areas of the country where there were most clubs were London, the northeast and the northwest of England. There was, however, also a cluster of clubs in the Midlands, the south of England, and in Scotland.

Clubs presented regular lectures and hosted meetings of members, as well as providing dedicated libraries, as well as offering courses, and in some cases healing services. Nearby in Leicester, a class for children was specifically set up.

The ideas behind the practical psychology of the day – positive thinking, self-improvement, relaxation, conscious and sub-conscious thought, knowing yourself, amongst many others – meant that it had a broad appeal, and producers of commercial products, like tonics, advertised their goods alongside adverts for club meetings, and in club literature. One of these was, of course, Sanatogen, described as a nerve tonic, created and produced by a company in Germany, who also owned Genatosan, a brand that was created in 1906. The company soon became a limited company, and made medicines and chemicals in Loughborough. Around 1937, Fisons got involved and bought shares in Genatosan, before acquiring the whole of the company. After that, Fisons took over Whiffens and Bengers. The rest, as they say, is history!

Sanatogen is still available today, and Morrisons, the supermarket, describes it as “the original British ‘tonic’ wine”.

And so, I’ve run out of time to write more about the practical psychology clubs in and around Loughborough, but I will be back, next week!

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Notes 

(1) Hallam, Anna Maud (1925). The threshold of practical psychology. The Practical Psychologist, Vol.1, No.1, January 1925, pg 1

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

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Dyer, Lynne (2022). Practical psychology Part 1! Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/08/practical-psychology-clubs-part-1.html [Accessed 7 August 2022]

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