Mental Illness In The 19th Century
Gina Reeves
29 March 2015
Abnormal Psychology
Changes of Diagnosis and Treatment of Mentally Ill
The diagnosis and treatment of the mentally ill has changed drastically between the 19th century and the 20th century. In the 1800’s, those who were diagnosed with mental illnesses were placed into institutions that were similar to jails. Once they were placed into these institutions, they would never be allowed to leave, even if they learn to control their illness. Most of these institutions had terrible rules, and were treated with cruelty. If a person was diagnosed with any type of mental illness in the 18th century, their family would put them in these institutions, and never go to visit. With this being said, placing those who have a mental illness in a facility would allow the members of the general public to “ignore” them. The public …show more content…
These facilities were often called a “home away from home”. Many times, this is where the wealthy would go to stay to recuperate. These “home away from home” facilities would be much cleaner than the public facilities, and the patients were treated with respect and would receive more one-on-one care, and were advocates in using a regular routine and pleasant habits, this was known as moral therapy.
Even though private facilities were considered a better environment to be in, they still practiced the same treatments that were popular at the time and that were used in the public facilities. Most doctors held a somatic view of mental illness. They almost always assumed that a defect in the nervous system would lay behind the mental health problems, and to correct the flawed nervous system, the doctors would apply treatments to the patients, such as hydrotherapy, electrical stimulation and
29 March 2015
Abnormal Psychology
Changes of Diagnosis and Treatment of Mentally Ill
The diagnosis and treatment of the mentally ill has changed drastically between the 19th century and the 20th century. In the 1800’s, those who were diagnosed with mental illnesses were placed into institutions that were similar to jails. Once they were placed into these institutions, they would never be allowed to leave, even if they learn to control their illness. Most of these institutions had terrible rules, and were treated with cruelty. If a person was diagnosed with any type of mental illness in the 18th century, their family would put them in these institutions, and never go to visit. With this being said, placing those who have a mental illness in a facility would allow the members of the general public to “ignore” them. The public …show more content…
These facilities were often called a “home away from home”. Many times, this is where the wealthy would go to stay to recuperate. These “home away from home” facilities would be much cleaner than the public facilities, and the patients were treated with respect and would receive more one-on-one care, and were advocates in using a regular routine and pleasant habits, this was known as moral therapy.
Even though private facilities were considered a better environment to be in, they still practiced the same treatments that were popular at the time and that were used in the public facilities. Most doctors held a somatic view of mental illness. They almost always assumed that a defect in the nervous system would lay behind the mental health problems, and to correct the flawed nervous system, the doctors would apply treatments to the patients, such as hydrotherapy, electrical stimulation and