History of Mental Institutions Before the 1800s by

Hospital Offers Mental Health Services

thompson4398 — 2024-03-11 23:32:46 UTC

The first documented time a hospital began offering mental health services was in Baghdad, Iraq, in 805 (1).

This is a significant event in the history of neuroscience because it shows recognition of mental illness as a medical event. Looking at mental illness from a medical perspective indicates that people believed there could be science, or other explanation, behind mental issues.

Source:

https://history-maps.com/story/Abbasid-Caliphate (1)

First Psychiatric Hospital Opens

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 00:04:00 UTC

In 1410, the first hospital fully dedicated to the treatment of mental illnesses opened in Valencia, Spain (2).

The opening of the hospital is significant to the history of neuroscience because it shows that the idea of mental illnesses needing hospital-like treatments became international since 805. Additionally, it shows that people recognized that mental illness is a separate field than other diseases.

Source:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18286394/#:~:text=Among%20them%2C%20the%20%3C%3CHospital,reasons%20to%20recognize%20its%20primacy. (2)

Documentation of Asylum Malpractice

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 00:32:42 UTC

Documentation has shown historic mental asylums to develop a theme of unethical practices. For example, the Bedlam hospital (pictured above) in England, where patients were subject to terrible conditions in 1547. Additionally, the asylum was treated as a "freak show" for towngoers to pay to see the patients (3)

The shown turning of mental institutions from resembling or being included in hospitals to chronic abuse is significant to the history of neuroscience because it shows how unethical historic institutions could be.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161213-how-bedlam-became-a-palace-for-lunatics (3)

Pinel's Idea Expands

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 00:40:34 UTC

Pinel's ideas of increasing the humaneness of mental institutions expanded. In 1796 in England, The York Retreat House became known for its non-restraint and overall friendliness towards patients (5).

The spread of Pinel's idea is important to today's medicine because seeing mental illness patient's as human gave us more interest in researching the brain, or the source of the illnesses.

Source:

https://www.byarcadia.org/post/history-of-mental-health-101-the-first-asylums (5)

Increased Humaneness in Asylums

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 00:42:43 UTC

In 1792, Philippe Pinel began leading the La Bicetre (mental) Hospital. His idea was that removing abusive habits presented in historical mental asylums would allow more healing for the patients (4).

This is significant because it was the first step in the "great medicalization" of mental health institutions (4). It significantly improved the mental health industry.

Source:

Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (4)

Contemporary: CMHC Act in 1963

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 01:32:57 UTC

In 1963. the president of the United States signed the Community Mental Health Act (CMHC). The act was intended to protect those with mental illness by providing community-based care, rather than institutionalized-based mental care (6).

Without the process of recognizing mental health as a medical instance that needs treated, mental health laws would not be in place.

Source:

https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/20230921/biden-harris-administration-awards-grants-to-expand-certified-community-behavioral-health-clinics-across-united-states#:~:text=The%20Community%20Mental%20Health%20Act%20of%201963%2C%20passed%20as%20part,care%20available%20in%20the%20community. (6)

Who is my docent?

thompson4398 — 2024-03-12 01:40:19 UTC

Because of his leadership as a pioneer in the history of mental health treatment throughout the late 1700s, I feel that Pinel best represents the mini museum. His ideas strayed mental healthcare from abusive institutions towards practices that built mental healthcare as we see it today (5).