Henri Nouwen and The Return of the Prodigal Son. Gabrielle Earnshaw

      But none of this is the work he is remembered for today. In his late thirties, Boisen suffered a severe psychotic episode and required care in a mental hospital for catatonic schizophrenia. He suffered extreme bouts of psychosis for the rest of his life and was hospitalized in psychiatric facilities on numerous occasions. Using his own illness as a basis for understanding and expertise, he wrote much of his best work. Boisen would become the first chaplain at a mental hospital in 1924. He first worked briefly with the Boston Psychiatric Hospital, and then, with the help of Cabot, moved to the Worcester State Hospital in Massachusetts, and later to the Elgin State Hospital in Illinois. He eventually became a teacher, establishing the first program in clinical pastoral training in the United States, and helped found the Chicago Council for Clinical Training.