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• NEW! The Pathology of Normalcy

• NEW! Beyond Freud

• The Heart of Man

• The Revolution of Hope

• The Violent Person

• Crucial Choices, Crucial Changes

• The Challenge for Group Psychotherapy

• The Challenge to Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

• Psychoanalytische Therapie in Gruppen

• A la Recherche de L'Avenir

History of AMHF

AMHF Director of Research, 1948 to 2005, Dr. Stefan de Schill: An Essential Professional in Its History and a Visionary


Dr. Stefan de Schill

Dr. Stefan de Schill circa 1948


For a fuller history of AMHF, see click here: About.

Throughout his remarkable career, Stefan de Schill was a tireless campaigner for improved methods of mental-health training and treatment. He was a pioneer in the field of group psychotherapy, by which the patient could benefit from the group dynamic as well as from the goal of more affordable treatment.

Born Stefan Sarkozi de Somogyi-Schill on April 4, 1917, in Vienna, de Schill was the author and editor of several landmark books based on AMHF research, including Crucial Choices—Crucial Changes: The Resurrection of Psychotherapy; The Challenge for Group Psychotherapy; and The Challenge for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Crucial Choices—Crucial Changes was published in 2000 by Prometheus. This magnum opus is now available from American Mental Health Foundation Books and its distributor, Lantern.

De Schill was the son of a banker. Among his father's clients were members of the Austrian government; at considerable risk, the Somogyi-Schill family also donated their financial means to the fight against the Nazis.

De Schill studied under Dr. Otto Kauders of the Psychiatric-Neurological University Clinic of Vienna, and later at the Université de Paris. (Dr. Kauders was instrumental in the introduction of LSD within the U.S., for purposes of psychiatric study.) Following the Austrian Anschluss and several years in France, de Schill worked in Brazil, from 1940 to 1947, as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, as well as a professor at The Catholic University and The Federal University of Brazil (as it was known at the time), Rio de Janeiro.

Since 1961, 2011 being the golden anniversary of its formation, de Schill was also vice president of the International Institute for Mental Health Research, Zurich and Geneva.

From 1949 to 1959, de Schill and AMHF conducted a massive, ground-breaking study of more than 18,000 patients.

Over 80,000 copies of the Introduction to Extended, Intensive Group Psychotherapy (originally entitled Introduction to Psychoanalytic Group Psychotherapy) were sold in six successive editions. Eventually, a major volume entitled The Challenge for Group Psychotherapy, which advocated this treatment, was published in four languages (1970-74): German (Klett); French (Presses Universitaires de France&mdash the first work on group psychotherapy to be published under the auspices of a major psychoanalytic society); English (International Universities Press); and Italian (Feltrinelli).

Authors in the series "The Search for the Future"


AMHF National Board of Governors (ca. 2000)


  • Harry B. Anderson, Former Chairman of the Board, Merrill Lynch International, New York
  • William R. Arthur, Former Chairman of the Board, Merrill Lynch International, New York
  • Stewart Keill, Professor of Psychiatry, New York University; Former Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland; Former Assistant Commissioner of Mental Health, New York State
  • R. B. London, Executive Director, Mental Health Foundation, London
  • Otto Klineberg, Honorary President, Word Federation for Mental Health
  • Steven S. Sharfstein, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland; President and Medical Director, Sheppard Pratt, Baltimore
  • Dan Stevens, Director of Development, New York University Medical Center

Past Presidents


  • Hon. Harvey J. Ross, Former Member of Legislature, State of New York
  • Richard Weil Jr., Former President, R. H. Macy; Past President, National Association for Mental Health

Professional Board (ca. 2000)


  • E. James Anthony
  • Jacob Chwast
  • Robert W. Gibson
  • Merton M. Gill
  • Toni Graf-Baumann
  • Andre E. Haynal
  • Marvin Hurvich
  • Hebry Krystal
  • John R. Lion
  • Lester Luborsky
  • Julian Metzoff
  • Louis R. Ormont
  • Malcolm Pines
  • George H. Pollock
  • Leo Rangell
  • Joseph Reppen
  • Nathan Schnaper
  • Jon A. Shaw
  • Stefan de Somogyi-Schill
  • Paul E. Stepansky
  • Helm Stiertim
  • Hans H. Strupp
  • Robert S. Wallerstein
  • Leon Wurmser
  • Valentine W. Zetlin

Committee on Public Education


  • Donald Lehr
  • Charles Roth
  • William Van Ornum (2008)

Who's Who (ca. 1955)


  • Anthony Hyde (Chairman) , Vice President, McCann-Erickson, Inc.
  • Dr. Stefan de Schill (Executive Director), AMHF
  • Anne Diamond, Past President, Women's Lawyers Association
  • Emerson Foote, Former Executive Vice President, McCann-Erickson, Inc.
  • Dr. David Gerst, Exam. Psychiatrist, U.S. Army and Air Force; Senior Clinic Assistant, Neurological OPD, Mount Sinai Hospital
  • John McCarthy, U.S. Director, O.E.E.C.
  • Ellen Lehman McClusky, President, Ellen Lehman McClusky Interiors, Inc.
  • Robert W. Robb, Senior Vice President, Reach, McClinton and Company
  • G. Jack Rudolf Jr., Former Director, Moore-McCormack Lines
  • Paul C. Smith, Former President, Crowell-Collier Publishing Company
  • William B. Thompson, Treasurer, Merritt, Chapman and Scott
  • Clyde M. Vandeburg, President, Vandeburg-Linkletter Associates
  • Richard Weil Jr., Former President, R. H. Macy; Past President, National Association for Mental Health

AMHF Founders


Foundation Associate

Foundation Associate

  • James A. Foley, Surrogate, New York County
  • Joseph L. Greenberg, Esq., President, National Foundation for Voluntary Adoptions
  • Peter A. Hendrick, Justice of Supreme Court, State of New York
  • Dr. Smith Ely Jeliffe, Psychiatrist, Neur. City Hospital for Nervous Diseases
  • James E. Lynch
  • Dr. L. Samuel Manson, Psychiatrist, Neurological Hospital for Def. and Joint Diseases
  • George Z. Medalie, Judge, Court of Appeals, State of New York
  • Norman Allen Merritt, Postmaster, Washington, D.C.
  • Hon. Harvey J. Ross, Former Member of Legislature, State of New York
  • Luke D. Stapleton, Justice, Appellate Division, Supreme Court, State of New York
  • Philip A. Warner, Vice President, New York Central Railroad



Other AMHF History


Denise LaHullier


Denise LaHullier

Denise LaHullier, AMHF Research Assistant, author, member of the board of directors, and longtime companion to Dr. Stefan De Schill

Author and group therapist, the late Denise LaHullier (1928-2006) was Coordinator of International Studies, AMHF. Born in France, she began life as a ballet dancer before AMHF became her life-work as a researcher and therapist in a group setting. She is a contributor to the AMHF publication The Challenge for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and other works.

Otto Kauders




Otto Kauders

Dr. Otto Kauders, under whom Stefan de Schill studied, circa 1940


Dr. Otto Kauders was a mentor to Stefan de Schill when de Schill studied under Kauders at the Psychiatric-Neurological University Clinic of Vienna. Dr. Kauders is thought to have first introduced LSD in the U.S. as a drug treatment for schizophrenia. Not long before his death, circa 1949, as Dr. de Schill accepted appointment as director of research for AMHF, the Viennese doctor traveled to the United States in search of research funds. He gave a conference at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital, which is considered to be the first public discussion of LSD (or d-lysergic acid diethylamide) in North America.

Paul Brunton




Stefan de Schill with Paul Brunton

Dr. Stefan De Schill with Paul Brunton


With his wide-ranging insights into the human psyche and its spiritual dimension, both from the Eastern and Western worldviews, Paul Brunton was a significant influence on the wider outlook of Stefan de Schill and, by extension, AMHF. Brunton was a British philosopher, mystic, traveler, and guru. He lived among yogis, mystics, and holy men, and studied a wide variety of Eastern and Western esoteric teachings. With his life dedicated to the inward and spiritual quest, Brunton believed that meditation is not exclusively for monks and hermits.

Madeleine Sherwood




Madeleine Sherwood

Madeleine Sherwood, star of stage and screen, and friend of the foundation


Madeleine Sherwood was a friend of AMHF as well as star of stage ('The Crucible,' by Arthur Miller, opening-night cast), screen ('Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'), and television ('The Flying Nun').