Mental Institutions’ Historical Background Essay

The Evolvement of Mental Care Asylums: Contextual Perspective

The notion of an asylum, which served as a shelter for mentally retarded individuals, first appeared in the 18^th century. The mother-country of the institution was England. Since that time, the experts and historians argue about the sources of asylums evolvement and verify multiple versions, which could clarify its sudden outbreak. According to the traditional theory, it is claimed that humanitarian progress allowed the doctors of the 18^th century to distinguish a new form of a disease that revealed itself in a form of lunacy or irrational behavior. However, the history of mental institutions cites multiple examples, which certify that the innovation possessed rather a social nature. Thus, according to the theory of social control, the ruling class of England created madhouses so that to show the labor classes the real nature of mental recovery and discard the beliefs of religious remedy, which existed among the citizens at that time. In this way, wealthy Anglicans established a new form of social manipulation.

Moreover, some experts claim that the introduction of asylums was a direct consequence of Industrial revolution and was rather viewed as a commercial step than a follow-up of the scientific discovery. Specifically, it is argued that, in the 18^th century, the world of trade passed a stage of service marketing boom. Therefore, the innovation created a new area of private entrepreneurship, which brought a substantial source of income for multiple owners of madhouses. The theory is often known under the name of “lunacy trade.” Except for bringing much profit to the individual proprietors, the type of mental business opened up a range of new positions. In the book on psychiatry for the rich, the absurdity of the tendency is interpreted in the following way: “Madhouses and mad-doctors arose from the same soil that generated demand for general practitioners, dancing masters, man-midwives, face painters, drawing tutors…” (MacKenzie 12).

The Development of Madhouses in the 19^th Century: Theory of Architecture

A substantial growth of madhouses occurred in the 19^th century. In this period, the so-called theory of architecture became famous among the U.S. citizens. According to it, the only way, in which the patients could have been cured, was a luxury provision. In other words, the medical experts believed that a surrounding environment and extreme comfort were the most key prerequisites of mental recovery. Therefore, in the 19^th century, a range of fancy asylums were built. The buildings of madhouses mostly represented the examples of medieval art and evolved into the forms of luxurious Greek cottages and temples. The innovation gave a new rise to the profession of an architect, which became highly values among the American asylum proprietors. At the same time, the luxuriousness of madhouses became a subject for social disparities and arguments, for it created a substantial lapse between the level of life of the ordinary citizens and mentally disabled people. Moreover, the innovation made lunacy treatment inaccessible for the lower ranks of American population since fancy asylums charged high fees for their services.

In fact, the scientific exploration of insanity nature revealed that intellectual disabilities were mostly bound with social and financial instability. Thus, the psychologists came to the conclusion that madness could arise on two grounds. First, it was a direct consequence of multiple physical injuries. Second, it evolved from childhood traumas and repeated right abuses. Since both factors emphasized the aspect of poorness and depravity, a treatment of wealthy patients seemed absurd. Therefore, private madhouses started to accept the representatives of margin and inferior social cohorts. Nevertheless, the culture of inequality proceeded to exist within the asylums. Thus, needy patients were not allowed to use any facilities that were provided by the institutions, which initiated multiple fights among the clients of asylums (Yanni 9). Therefore, the nature of psychiatric treatment in the 19^th century is quite inefficient since it is propriety-oriented rather than directed on patients.

History of Insanity Fraud: Exploring the Commercialization of Health

In the 19^th century, the recruitment of mentally disabled citizens into the asylums became a part of the therapeutic strategy. The historians account that the grounds for asylum hospitalization were often quite illogical, despite the citizens actually believed in the doctrines of madhouse treatment. It is acknowledged that many wealthy families in England, as well as in America, became the targets for psychiatrists, who were often making home visits, the aim of which was to attract as many clients as possible. The primary reason for hospitalization could be slight emotional instability or a provocation of an argument in a family. Due to the doctors, these causes sufficed so that to recommend a long-term separation from the family. Quite often, the so-called distance treatment implied that a client could have been visited neither by his family members nor by his friends or relatives.

The contemporary historians claim that this factor mainly accounted for a concealment of neglect and inferiority, which often existed in madhouse settings (MacKenzie 67). Except for social separation, the psychiatrists of the 19^th century introduced the theory of environmental determinism, which served as one more justification for insane hospitalization. Since the luxurious asylums were prevalently situated in the countryside and rural areas, it was claimed that the power of nature and fresh air could have contributed to a rapid recovery of the patients. In the reality, the clients of asylums were rarely allowed to stay outside the buildings, for it was hard for the staff to monitor them (Yanni 123). Thus, the tradition of insane treatment in the 19^th century was based on fraud and health commercialization.

The Formation of Psychiatry as a Consequence of Asylum Introduction

The creation of mental hospitals launched the movement of psychiatry development. Thus, the first specialists in the sphere were either the owners of the madhouses or the workers of such institutions since they had a chance to track the improvements or downfalls in the patients’ mental health. In the USA, the science was called asylum medicine since the major investigations were conducted inside the institutions. Due to the elevated social rankings of madhouse treatment, the profession of a psychiatrist gained instant popularity among the young professionals and quickly surpassed a specialization of a physician.

The analysis of treatment models, which were offered by the first psychiatrists, reflects the spirit of architecture remedy. Thus, it is apparent that the primary medical theories on psychological health evolved in a strong interrelation with the doctrines of environment cure and luxury principles. As a result, the leading specialists of the 19^th century released numerous works, in which they claim that a picture of an asylum has a therapeutic character and may contribute to the improvement of human health (Yanni 27). Despite the real nature of mental illnesses was shaded, the primary doctrines on insanity treatment created a background for the development of modern psychiatry.

Works Cited

MacKenzie, Charlotte. Psychiatry for the Rich: A History of Ticehurst Private Asylum 1792-1917, New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Yanni, Carla. The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. Print.