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Sargant was an outspoken supporter and practitioner of what he termed the 'practical rather than philosophical approaches' to the treatment of mental illness, pioneering and publicising various physical treatments and vociferously opposing the use of psychoanalytic techniques. The majority of the collection consists of his writings, both published and unpublished, supplemented by a small quantity of correspondence and other material. In addition, the collection contains clinical records for about 500 cases from Sutton Emergency Hospital in the 1940s. As well as covering clinical subjects (in Sections D, E, and F) and Sargant's views on the practice of psychiatry in general (Section B), the collection also contains material relating to his interest in the related issues of religious conversion and brainwashing (Section G).

The initial deposit, sections A-K, consists mainly of correspondence and associated papers (leaflets, memoranda, extracts from minutes, etc.). There are two main series of correspondence: 'People' and 'General' and some other distinct smaller series such as 'Branches and other Societies'. The internal arrangement of these files is normally chronological, with a few exceptions (usually an alphabetical arrangement). There are also lecturers' report sheets, publications, slides, posters, charts, and photographs, mainly but not exclusively in Section G: Propaganda and Publicity. There is a set of Annual Reports and related material 1908-1979 (Section A). Under the will of Dr. Marie Stopes the Eugenics Society was left her birth control clinic, books from her library and certain emoluments. Three boxes of her correspondence and some miscellanea, were assigned to section K. In 1988 minute books and the Society's extensive collection of press cuttings plus some financial records were added as GB0120 SA/EUG/L-N.