Dr. William Houston Goodson (b1936)
Dr. William (Bill) Goodson (BillGoodson.com) |
Dr. William (Bill) Goodson (Facebook) |
Psychiatrist, Author
Notes:
• "Educated in the Huntsville City Schools and graduated valedictorian of his class from Huntsville High School in 1953.
Received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Completed a psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1964 and is board-certified in psychiatry.
Educated in the Huntsville City Schools and graduated valedictorian of his class from Huntsville High School in 1953.
Received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Completed a psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1964 and is board-certified in psychiatry.
Served as Division Psychiatrist of the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, N.C., from 1964-66, receiving the Combat Medical Badge for action in the Dominican Republic.
Practiced psychiatry in Huntsville from 1966 until 2005, mostly in private practice but for nine years with the community mental health center. Received certification in addiction medicine and served on the state of Alabama's Impaired Physician Committee.
Married since 1956 to Elise, who has shared the rearing of three daughters and who taught in the public schools. The daughters and husbands and eight grandchildren all live in Alabama and Georgia.
Now retired, he devotes his spare time to writing, family, church (Episcopal), bicycling, the homeless, advocating for a new state constitution, and regular retreats with friends to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.
Board member, Alabama Writers' Forum, 1998-2000, and member, Alabama Writers' Conclave. - BillGoodson.Com
• William Houston Goodson Jr. married Emily Elise Canterbury June 2, 1956. - MCRC
• Patrons for Old Town Historic District and Historic Huntsville Foundation. - Old Town Historic District
• Vice Chairman, Alabama Council of Mental Health Retardation Directors. - Record
• Bio from the "About" page:
"A psychiatrist turned writer? Well...no Pulitzer yet, but in my latter years of practice, I found time between grandchildren and other welcome diversions to crank up the computer. I must admit that motivation to hit the keys came partly from stark reminders of my mortality: cancer treatment and by-pass surgery, to be specific. My first book, "Re-Souled," grew out of a desire to share the changes wrought in myself by treating alcoholics and seeing their transformation through the 12-step program. I, in turn, was transformed.
The process of writing that book led me to use the passion I felt for certain subjects as the starting point for more books. First, I wrote two novels, "The Bossuet Conspiracy," and "Scherib," both with threads from the life of Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk and author. My next endeavor, "Not Helpless-The Street Homeless and Their Helpers," returned to non-fiction, as I chronicled the lives of some of the street homeless in my hometown that I had experienced first-hand as a volunteer for ten years.
I am now finishing my third novel, "Where Snow Has Lain," based on the life and death of a close friend. It is a tale of suspense and redemption.
I don't know what comes after that...yet. My writers' group will challenge and inspire me, I'm sure." - Facebook
• All proceeds from Not Helpless: The Street Homeless and Their Helpers will go to First Stop, Inc., homeless day center in Huntsville, AL. You can order the book online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. - Facebook
• "He says medicines revolutionized care of the mentally ill
Everything Bill Goodson didn't need to know about being a psychiatrist, he learned in college.
Goodson - who has treated patients in the U.S. Army, in private practice and for the state of Alabama - said it was under the tutelage of Huntsville's first psychiatrist, Hyman Miller, that he discovered what it meant to care for the human psyche.
While studying at Vanderbilt University and working as a resident at Massachusetts General and McLean Psychiatric Hospital (where suicidal poet Sylvia Plath was a patient), Goodson said he didn't encounter the kind of treatment he would offer when he came home to Huntsville.
'It was mostly Freudian stuff that had little practical application in Small Town, USA,' he said. 'I'd never administered or even witnessed electroshock therapy during my training. But at the time, electroshock was the primary tool for treating severe depression.'
Goodson was drafted into the 82nd Airborne division and served as division psychiatrist from 1964 through 1966. His Army stint included 13 parachute jumps.
He opened a psychiatry practice in Huntsville after he left the military. Miller had been here for three years, 'and hadn't had a weekend off in all that time,' Goodson said. Before Miller, patients needing psychiatric help traveled to Birmingham, Nashville or beyond.
Goodson was entering the private sector shortly before medicines were introduced to treat the most common mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.
He said it revolutionized care for both doctors and patients.
'I remember the first person I put on lithium,' said Goodson, 67. 'It was 1968. It was a man who was manic-depressive - now we call it bipolar - and he'd been admitted to the hospital once or twice a year during his worst times.'
'Lithium was like a miracle. It was like penicillin in the 1930s. It changed lives. I don't think that man ever had to go back into the hospital.'
That was such a swing from what he'd learned as a resident, 'when you felt like a failure if you had to put one of your patients on medication, as if psychotherapy could help a schizophrenic.'
He said these days, mental illness is viewed much more as a genetic, biological function. And he's glad of that. He said he knows patients are getting better care because of that realization, even though the incidence of mental illness - why it occurs in some people and not others - is still a mystery.
'Whoever figures out the genetics of schizophrenia will be a Nobel Prize winner,' he said.
And Goodson won't be in the running for that. He's semi-retired, only working in his office about 12 hours a week. Much of his free time is still spent being a psychiatrist, only he does it for no pay.
He volunteers with The Village, a nonprofit organization that delivers food, blankets and support to the area's homeless population.
'My life is about helping the Ricks and Ernies of the world,' he said, referring to two of his indigent patients. 'For 20 years, (Rick) heard voices in his head and he was sleeping in a tent. But he's in an apartment now. He's taking his medication, and the voices are quiet.'
'That is my calling.'
As director of Madison County's mental health center for nine years, back in the 1970s, Goodson said the homeless weren't that much of a priority, even though many people living on the street suffer from mental illness. He said that type of patient didn't provide 'much bang for the buck,' and he focused on the kind of patient who had more potential for success.
'Street schizophrenics have the worst prognosis,' he said. 'Many are also alcoholics, and they have no support system, no one to make sure they stay on their meds or come in for their appointments.'
He got involved with the homeless three years ago, when he reduced his private practice load. One visit to a homeless camp, 'and I was hooked.'
'It's the trust and gratitude that they show,' he said. 'It's a different world out there, where our primary goal is to keep them alive.'" - Stumb
• "The first ever Historic Five Points Walking tours were held the 1st & 2nd Saturdays in October. It was a real family affair for the Goodson Family. Brother & sister Bill Goodson & Pat Goodson were the respective tour guides. The 1928 Foyer - Goodson home on Clinton Avenue belonged to their parents Houston and Alma Goodson who were well known in the community for their neighborhood stores, and of course their longtime ownership of Zestos and naming the famous 'Dip Dog' and 'Zesto Burger'. Their sister Mary Lou from Guntersville also dropped in, and they all shared home baked goodies (made with pecans from their parents' pecan trees) with the tour participants. Refreshments were served under the canopy of a carport and enormous old trees at the home of Rusty George. Attendance of the 2 tours was greater than anyone anticipated, with approximately 200 people showing up to participate, and we could not have ordered more beautiful weather. Many residents took time to spruce up their yards for guests. Historic facts, architectural details, & recollections were shared, and some participants added their memories as well. It was heartwarming to see so many people enjoying our neighborhood.
Historic Old Town tours were held the 3rd & 4th Saturdays in October, and were just as well attended. The tour guides were longtime Old Town residents Jerry Barclay, Alice Lawler & Lucy Brown. Our appreciation goes to Faye Wishik, Director of Tourism, Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau for making this happen. We certainly hope this will become an annual event." - Perszyk
• "Bill is now working on his third novel, this one a departure from the suspense genre. Tentatively titled "Where Snow Has Lain", this dramatic story traces the relationship of an aspiring writer, Lomax Connors, with his former psychiatrist, Mark Leibovitz. Lomax, age 35, is dying of lung cancer and unexpectedly calls upon Mark to help him with lingering problems. While aiding his former patient, Mark finds himself confronting his own issues and experiencing a spiritual renewal." - Coffee Tree
Related Links:
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Alma Naomi Englebert Goodson
• Old Town Historic District
• Record
• William Houston Goodson (b1909)
| Nickname: | Bill |
| Born: | June 12, 1936, Huntsville, Alabama |
| Son of: | Alma Naomi Englebert Goodson |
| Son of: | William Houston Goodson (b1909) |
Notes:
• "Educated in the Huntsville City Schools and graduated valedictorian of his class from Huntsville High School in 1953.
Received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Completed a psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1964 and is board-certified in psychiatry.
Educated in the Huntsville City Schools and graduated valedictorian of his class from Huntsville High School in 1953.
Received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Vanderbilt University.
Completed a psychiatric residency at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1964 and is board-certified in psychiatry.
Served as Division Psychiatrist of the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, N.C., from 1964-66, receiving the Combat Medical Badge for action in the Dominican Republic.
Practiced psychiatry in Huntsville from 1966 until 2005, mostly in private practice but for nine years with the community mental health center. Received certification in addiction medicine and served on the state of Alabama's Impaired Physician Committee.
Married since 1956 to Elise, who has shared the rearing of three daughters and who taught in the public schools. The daughters and husbands and eight grandchildren all live in Alabama and Georgia.
Now retired, he devotes his spare time to writing, family, church (Episcopal), bicycling, the homeless, advocating for a new state constitution, and regular retreats with friends to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky.
Board member, Alabama Writers' Forum, 1998-2000, and member, Alabama Writers' Conclave. - BillGoodson.Com
• William Houston Goodson Jr. married Emily Elise Canterbury June 2, 1956. - MCRC
• Patrons for Old Town Historic District and Historic Huntsville Foundation. - Old Town Historic District
• Vice Chairman, Alabama Council of Mental Health Retardation Directors. - Record
• Bio from the "About" page:
"A psychiatrist turned writer? Well...no Pulitzer yet, but in my latter years of practice, I found time between grandchildren and other welcome diversions to crank up the computer. I must admit that motivation to hit the keys came partly from stark reminders of my mortality: cancer treatment and by-pass surgery, to be specific. My first book, "Re-Souled," grew out of a desire to share the changes wrought in myself by treating alcoholics and seeing their transformation through the 12-step program. I, in turn, was transformed.
The process of writing that book led me to use the passion I felt for certain subjects as the starting point for more books. First, I wrote two novels, "The Bossuet Conspiracy," and "Scherib," both with threads from the life of Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist monk and author. My next endeavor, "Not Helpless-The Street Homeless and Their Helpers," returned to non-fiction, as I chronicled the lives of some of the street homeless in my hometown that I had experienced first-hand as a volunteer for ten years.
I am now finishing my third novel, "Where Snow Has Lain," based on the life and death of a close friend. It is a tale of suspense and redemption.
I don't know what comes after that...yet. My writers' group will challenge and inspire me, I'm sure." - Facebook
• All proceeds from Not Helpless: The Street Homeless and Their Helpers will go to First Stop, Inc., homeless day center in Huntsville, AL. You can order the book online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. - Facebook
• "He says medicines revolutionized care of the mentally ill
Everything Bill Goodson didn't need to know about being a psychiatrist, he learned in college.
Goodson - who has treated patients in the U.S. Army, in private practice and for the state of Alabama - said it was under the tutelage of Huntsville's first psychiatrist, Hyman Miller, that he discovered what it meant to care for the human psyche.
While studying at Vanderbilt University and working as a resident at Massachusetts General and McLean Psychiatric Hospital (where suicidal poet Sylvia Plath was a patient), Goodson said he didn't encounter the kind of treatment he would offer when he came home to Huntsville.
'It was mostly Freudian stuff that had little practical application in Small Town, USA,' he said. 'I'd never administered or even witnessed electroshock therapy during my training. But at the time, electroshock was the primary tool for treating severe depression.'
Goodson was drafted into the 82nd Airborne division and served as division psychiatrist from 1964 through 1966. His Army stint included 13 parachute jumps.
He opened a psychiatry practice in Huntsville after he left the military. Miller had been here for three years, 'and hadn't had a weekend off in all that time,' Goodson said. Before Miller, patients needing psychiatric help traveled to Birmingham, Nashville or beyond.
Goodson was entering the private sector shortly before medicines were introduced to treat the most common mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.
He said it revolutionized care for both doctors and patients.
'I remember the first person I put on lithium,' said Goodson, 67. 'It was 1968. It was a man who was manic-depressive - now we call it bipolar - and he'd been admitted to the hospital once or twice a year during his worst times.'
'Lithium was like a miracle. It was like penicillin in the 1930s. It changed lives. I don't think that man ever had to go back into the hospital.'
That was such a swing from what he'd learned as a resident, 'when you felt like a failure if you had to put one of your patients on medication, as if psychotherapy could help a schizophrenic.'
He said these days, mental illness is viewed much more as a genetic, biological function. And he's glad of that. He said he knows patients are getting better care because of that realization, even though the incidence of mental illness - why it occurs in some people and not others - is still a mystery.
'Whoever figures out the genetics of schizophrenia will be a Nobel Prize winner,' he said.
And Goodson won't be in the running for that. He's semi-retired, only working in his office about 12 hours a week. Much of his free time is still spent being a psychiatrist, only he does it for no pay.
He volunteers with The Village, a nonprofit organization that delivers food, blankets and support to the area's homeless population.
'My life is about helping the Ricks and Ernies of the world,' he said, referring to two of his indigent patients. 'For 20 years, (Rick) heard voices in his head and he was sleeping in a tent. But he's in an apartment now. He's taking his medication, and the voices are quiet.'
'That is my calling.'
As director of Madison County's mental health center for nine years, back in the 1970s, Goodson said the homeless weren't that much of a priority, even though many people living on the street suffer from mental illness. He said that type of patient didn't provide 'much bang for the buck,' and he focused on the kind of patient who had more potential for success.
'Street schizophrenics have the worst prognosis,' he said. 'Many are also alcoholics, and they have no support system, no one to make sure they stay on their meds or come in for their appointments.'
He got involved with the homeless three years ago, when he reduced his private practice load. One visit to a homeless camp, 'and I was hooked.'
'It's the trust and gratitude that they show,' he said. 'It's a different world out there, where our primary goal is to keep them alive.'" - Stumb
• "The first ever Historic Five Points Walking tours were held the 1st & 2nd Saturdays in October. It was a real family affair for the Goodson Family. Brother & sister Bill Goodson & Pat Goodson were the respective tour guides. The 1928 Foyer - Goodson home on Clinton Avenue belonged to their parents Houston and Alma Goodson who were well known in the community for their neighborhood stores, and of course their longtime ownership of Zestos and naming the famous 'Dip Dog' and 'Zesto Burger'. Their sister Mary Lou from Guntersville also dropped in, and they all shared home baked goodies (made with pecans from their parents' pecan trees) with the tour participants. Refreshments were served under the canopy of a carport and enormous old trees at the home of Rusty George. Attendance of the 2 tours was greater than anyone anticipated, with approximately 200 people showing up to participate, and we could not have ordered more beautiful weather. Many residents took time to spruce up their yards for guests. Historic facts, architectural details, & recollections were shared, and some participants added their memories as well. It was heartwarming to see so many people enjoying our neighborhood.
Historic Old Town tours were held the 3rd & 4th Saturdays in October, and were just as well attended. The tour guides were longtime Old Town residents Jerry Barclay, Alice Lawler & Lucy Brown. Our appreciation goes to Faye Wishik, Director of Tourism, Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau for making this happen. We certainly hope this will become an annual event." - Perszyk
• "Bill is now working on his third novel, this one a departure from the suspense genre. Tentatively titled "Where Snow Has Lain", this dramatic story traces the relationship of an aspiring writer, Lomax Connors, with his former psychiatrist, Mark Leibovitz. Lomax, age 35, is dying of lung cancer and unexpectedly calls upon Mark to help him with lingering problems. While aiding his former patient, Mark finds himself confronting his own issues and experiencing a spiritual renewal." - Coffee Tree
Related Links:
• ACCR - Officer for Huntsville-Sand Mountain Region of Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform. (Originally found at http://www.constitutionalreform.org/localchapters/madisoncounty.shtml.)
• BillGoodson.Com - Personal Website Bio.
• Coffee Tree - Bio (Originally found at http://www.coffeetreebnb.com/57989.html.)
• Facebook - Public page
• Huntsville Botanical Garden - Supporter (Originally found at http://hsvbg.org/index.php?mainID=11&subID=40&type=default&sub2ID=48.)
• MCRC - Madison County Records Center
• North Alabama Woodcarvers - Dr. Bill Goodson was present for there first meeting. Originally found at http://nawawoodcarvers.org/from-the-founder.html, but no longer accessible.
• Old Town Historic District - Historic Huntsville Quarterly, Vol. VII, #3, Spring, 1981, Historic Huntsville Foundation, page 23.
• Perszyk - Article titled " October Walking Tours" by Judy Perszyk for The Point, Five Points Historic District Association, Vol. 5, Issue 1: January 2004.
• Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentially of Alabama and the United States, Volume II, by James Record, 1978, page 676.
• Stumb - Article titled "Psychiatrist, semi-retired, aids homeless" by Patricia c. Stumb for Huntsville Times, Feb. 8, 2004.
The Following Pages Link to this Page:
• Alma Naomi Englebert Goodson
• Old Town Historic District
• Record
• William Houston Goodson (b1909)