PSY 034 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Bloodletting, Etiology, Psy
Document Summary
Used science to contribute to the field. Elaborated on nervous system based on animal dissections. Divided the causes of psychological illnesses into two categories: physical and mental. Physical: injuries to the head, adolescent, menstrual changes. Wanted patients to be comfortable (blood letting is still dominant procedure) First mental hospital established in baghdad in ad 792. Classified and defined physical and mental diseases and their causes. Ahead of his time: he described stuff about diabetes and tuberculosis. Saw a return of the belief that mental illness was due to supernatural causes such as superstition or rituals. Left largely to the clergy and occurred primarily in monasteries. Institutions to warehouse troublesome people; commonly used harsh tactics to control unruly or excited patients. Bedlam: monastery of st. mary of bethlehem in london commissioned by king henry. Benjamin rush, the father of american psychiatry, recommended drawing copious amounts of blood, to relieve brain pressure.