Physical Treatment Of The Mentally Ill In Our Town By Thorton Wilder

Although life during the 1800s and early 1900s weren’t all that great, to begin with, compare that to how asylums treated patients during this time, the normal population life should have seen life as a simple breeze in the wind. There is a reason that our first thoughts when thinking of asylums is horror and it’s because of all of the horror shows that actually happen at these areas. Then comes in a place that has a new idea of treating patients, a new of thinking that never had been seen before. A new revolution when it comes to the psychological medical field. Step in Danvers State Hospital.

Founded in 1883 by James C. Hawthorne, the Oregon State Hospital previously referred to as The Oregon State Insane Asylum has contributed to the success of present day society’s perception of mental health. Legislature passed an act in 1880, which allowed the Oregon state government to run a psychiatric facility (Mental Health Ass). The late 1800’s placed individuals determined to be a burden to society within the hospital to receive treatment. Mental health is currently accepted within American society and viewed as a disease rather than a mental disturbance and danger to civilization.

This story was often common practice with these type mental faculties. The patients then were treated so poorly. This is how psychiatry began in our country; with practices indistinguishable from torture (Leupo). American doctors have made great strides since the early 1960’s; but does society know what is going on inside the walls our mental hospitals? We didn’t in 1962, that’s for

Asylums are known to help people get better…or so we thought. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey we learn the other side of asylums. In the novel we get to learn the overpowering and damaging effect asylums have on patients. The first asylum, specifically for mentally ill people, was created in 1814. They were created because it was believed that institutionalizing mentally ill people was the correct form of treatment.

Many of the “patients” were sent to the institutions for varying reasons that did not require medical attention. This increased the patient to doctor ratio, and slowed other patient’s chances of getting the medical attention they needed, even if it was not truly helping their illness. The term mentally ill is defined as “continued display of unsound judgements and actions that do not fit into society’s values” (Swart) and “according the the Weschler Adult Scale III, mental retardation is at an IQ of 70” (“A Step”). “The Institutions were overcrowded with people who couldn’t really get better” (Payne). “Many of the patients got in because they weren’t wanted, they had phobias or panic attacks, or they were looking for a home” (Mental).

Shocked to see prisoners devoid of medical and moral treatment in damp, cold quarters, Dix vowed to end the barbaric and revolting degradation. Very little of the population knew or cared about the mentally ill’s peril, and Dix’s crusade changed the way the mentally ill were received. Dix not only shed light on the nation’s most perplexing problem, she fearlessly shoved the issue squarely into the center of public policy, broadcasting the issue through her written account On Behalf of the Insane and Poor. Dix constructed 32 hospitals and 13 asylums throughout America and Europe (Reddi, 2005, para. 6). Most of these symbols of hope and progress are still standing today.

In the beginning of the 19th century, not much was known on how to treat the mentally ill or even if someone was suffering from mental illness. As time went on it was brought to attention that people who suffered from mental illnesses needed help and rehabilitation. Although, the treatments for mental illness were questionable in their effectiveness. Research says, “Treatment, if provided,

Their are around 500,000 mentally ill people that are put away in prisons and jails. In the documentary “The New Asylums”,Ohio's state prison system reveals the issues that are ongoing with mentally ill inmates. The major problem we have today is that no one is taking care of the people of these people. Most mentally ill people live by themselves with no family or friends to take care of them and they are off their medications. The mentally ill come in to prison on non violent offenses such as disturbing the peace, trespassing, etc. After leaving mental hospitals they usually end up on the streets and become homeless.

Another challenge is the difficulty in providing acute care to patients with severe mental illness in the community. In such cases, hospitalization may be necessary to ensure the safety of the patient and

Out of that report came the era of deinstitutionalization which led to an overhaul of the mental health policy for the last hundred years. Deinstitutionalization efforts at first was a reflection largely on the international movement facilitated by the development of a variety of antipsychotic drugs (Garcia, 2010). In addition to reform the asylum-based mental health care system and move toward community-oriented care, based on the belief that psychiatric patients would have a higher quality of life if treated in their communities rather than in large, unformed, and isolated mental hospitals(Karger, & Stoesz,

(“Background on Mental Health”). Patients at mental institutions in the 1950s were constantly in danger without their

The slam poem " And the Psych Ward Says" by Anita D is a powerful piece of spoken word that addresses the stigmatization of mental illness and the need for greater understanding and compassion towards those who are struggling with mental health issues. This text informs the audience of the effects that mental health has on its patients, and how most of them end up in asylums that do nothing but heighten their issues. Which the asylums then neglect and make their patient's stay even worse. This poem addresses that the patient only had to stay for three days, but on Monday the worker said that they only operate on business days, so they still had more time to break down the patient.

Introduction Prior to the mid-1960 virtually all mental health treatment was provided on an inpatient basis in hospitals and institutions. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 was established with its primary focus on deinstitutionalizing mentally ill patients, and shutting down asylums in favor of community mental health centers. It was a major policy shift in mental health treatment that allowed patients to go home and live independently while receiving treatment, (Pollack & Feldman, 2003). As a result of the Act, there was a shift of mentally ill persons in custodial care in state institutions to an increase of the mentally ill receiving prosecutions in criminal courts.

It was typical for patients receiving care to deteriorate within their condition. It was noted in a census taken from the 1950s that, “According to preliminary information, the number of patients in State and county mental hospitals increased in 1950.” (Public Health Reports). During this time period, anyone who appeared to be out of the ordinary was most likely institutionalized. This highlights the distinction between mental health and ailment; the fact that many people during this time had poor mental health does not mean they have a mental illness and should be institutionalized.

Even of the patients are mentally disable and some cant express clearly, they still manage to form a strong social bond with the regular people. During the 1970’s President Kennedy passed a health reform act in which psychiatry was reevaluated, and insane asylums were shutting down. The given number 160,000 was lowest at the time as more asylums designed to isolate patients were converting to a therapeutic haling centers