Moral Treatment

Beginning in the late eighteenth century “moral treatment” had become the prevalent school of treatment in the United States. Replacing the model of demonic possession, “moral treatment” hypothesized that insanity was caused by brain damage from outward influences on the soft and fragile brain.  Removing patients to an appropriate environment where they could indulge in clean, healthy living, and would be offered exercise, work, education and religious instruction, was thought to facilitate their cure.  But the “moral treatment” method was riddled with problems.  As doctors and other hospital personnel grew frustrated by their lack of progress and a shortage of willing qualified staff, conditions often deteriorated.  Faced with overcrowded hospitals, and concerned about the rise of the spiritualist movement (which some attributed to the “moral treatment” method), many superintendents resorted to physical restraints.  By the middle part of the century, heredity also was considered a root cause of mental illness.  Many in the field believed that weak family and vices, like alcoholism and masturbation, could lead to madness.  The mentally ill were considered “genetically inferior” and eugenics and warped interpretations of Darwin’s theories suggested that mental illness could be eliminated through social engineering.  (American Experience)
 
However, there were many problems with how these understandings were applied into practice.  Hospitals and Mental Institutions were created to help “cure” the mentally ill, but several problems arose.

The expectation in the United States that hospitals for the mentally ill and humane treatment will cure the sick does not prove true. State mental hospitals become over-crowded and custodial care supersedes humane treatment. New York World reporter Nellie Bly poses as a mentally ill person to become an inmate at an asylum. Her reports from inside result in more funding to improve conditions.  (Asylums)

Check out Nellie Bly's reports here: (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/world/sfeature/memoir.html)

Works Cited:

Asylums, t. 1., true, s., sensational, s., oversight, a. i., & psychiatry., p. a. (n.d.). Untitled Document. McCarter Theatre. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://www.mccarter.org/education/mrs-packard/html/6.html American Experience | A Brilliant

American Experience | A Brilliant Madness | Timeline. (n.d.). PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/index.html