PSYA02H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Dorothea Dix, Insanity Defense, Philippe Pinel
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PSYA02H3 Full Course Notes
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In the past, psychological disorders were seen as the mark of the devil, or demons possessing someone. This caused methods like torture and exorcism to be commonly used, believing that the pain was being caused to the demons and not the individual. In some cases, these possessed people were killed. Later on, these illnesses started to be seen as akin to physical illnesses like leprosy. Many people were cooped up in asylums to be separated from the general public. Asylums: residential facilities for the mentally ill. They would be shocked" out of the diseased state with treatments like bloodletting and tossing them into a pit of snakes. Changes occurred later, thanks to philippe pinel (physician from france) and dorothea dix (schoolteacher from us) Moral treatment: a new approach to treating mental illness which had patients being treated with kindness and decency. Despite this being wonderful for the ill, it did not represent an effective treatment or cure.
