History

The Society was founded in 2001 following two series of multidisciplinary research seminars on the psychological aspects of eye disorders at the Tavistock Clinic. These were funded by a bequest left by W S Inman (1876-1968) who was both an ophthalmologist and a psychoanalyst.

The seminars were lead by the late Alexis Brook and also General Practitioners Sotiris Zalidis and Andrew Elder who work in the Balint tradition.  Some of the seminar participants – Pat Leaning, Optometrist, Liz Middleton, Orthoptist, Mandy O’Keefe, Social Worker and Richard Wormald, Ophthalmologist - as well as the good doctors who lead the seminars - went on to organise the Mind’s Eye Conference series.  From this innovative multi-disciplinary group The Eye and The Mind Society was born.