She was born in
Hampden, Massachusetts. She entered
Tufts Medical School in 1908 at the age of 17, and graduated cum laude with a medical degree in 1913. She accepted an appointment at the
Gardner State Hospital in Massachusetts, the first woman ever on the hospital medical staff. After three years, she moved to the
Foxborough State Hospital in Massachusetts. Her weekends and vacations were spent at the
Boston Psychopathic Hospital (now the
Massachusetts Mental Health Center), where she came into contact with
Elmer Southard, a leading
child psychiatrist. Among her colleagues were
Karl Menninger,
Harry Solomon, and
Lawson Lowrey, leaders in the field of
psychiatry. Kenworthy moved to New York in 1919 to educate physical education teachers at the
Central School of Hygiene of the Young Women's Christian Association (
YWCA). She also worked on a research project at the
Vanderbilt Clinic and the
New York State Neurological Institute observing
glandular problems of children. Here, she met
Bernard Glueck who invited her to lecture at the
New York School of Social Work (now the
Columbia University School of Social Work). In 1921, she became assistant director of the
Bureau of Child Guidance under Glueck. When he left in 1924, she assumed the directorship. The Bureau had been established as a demonstration clinic for the mental health problems of children. During her tenure, Kenworthy trained in psychoanalysis with
Otto Rank. Kenworthy established her private practice in child and adult psychiatry. The Bureau closed in 1927. Kenworthy was named an instructor in the
Department of Mental Hygiene at the
New York Social Work School in 1921. She became its director in 1924 and stayed until 1940, when she became professor of psychiatry. In 1956, she retired and awarded Emeritus status. A Chair was established in her honor and she was named a Trustee to the Board of Columbia University. In 1968, the
Medical College of Pennsylvania awarded her an honorary D.M.S., and in 1973 she received an honorary D.S. from
Columbia University. The
American Psychiatric Association (APA) gave her its
Agnes McGavin Purcell Award in 1971. Kenworthy achieved a number of "firsts." She was the first elected woman vice president of the
American Psychiatric Association (1965–1966), the first woman president of the
American Psychoanalytic Association (1958–1959), president of the
American Academy of Child Psychiatry (1959–1961), and president of the
Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (1959–1961). Kenworthy contributed to the education of thousands of social workers and helped to professionalize the profession. She fostered
child psychiatry as a specialization. She worked to integrate mental health concepts into the
juvenile court system and
adoption sources in New York City. ==Works==