Mental Health Doctors 100 Years Ago

There was still a large lack of understanding that what caused mental illness the 1930’s, however people still wanted to treat mental illness so this brought more therapeutic ideas on how to cure it. In 1933, two neurologists at Yale Primate Laboratory, Dr. Fulton and Jacobson, performed experiments on two monkeys. They tested the intelligence of the monkeys before and after the removal of half the brains’ frontal lobes. They seemed to retain their skills and intelligence. Fulton and Jacobson wanted to take this a little further, they removed the other half of the frontal lobe. They discovered that the monkeys no longer became violent and frustrated when they didn't immediately get their treats after completing the intelligence test [9].

In America, one in five adults has a mental health condition, a staggering statistic. Appreciatively, recovery is the goal in the mental health centers of 2017. Nevertheless, in the 1950s, patients were provided with inhumane treatments such as lobotomies. Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, provides an accurate portrayal of a psychiatric ward in the 1950s. The antagonist, Nurse Ratched, hopes her patients will not recover and manipulates them to gain authority. In contrast with the past, Nurses of the present day treat individuals with respect. Conduct towards mentally ill patients has changed since the 1950s in ways such as public attitude, medication, and

Mental health services in St. Louis have undergone a multitude of changes as stigmas towards mental health issues have begun to change. Traditionally, mentally ill individuals were thought to be lacking religion or in trouble in the eyes of God, and this thought process was believed until after the Middle Ages. These beliefs may have changed, but the attitudes towards the mentally ill were continued into the 18th century and beyond, which caused an increase in the stigmatization of mental illness, and thus subjected these individuals to humiliating and unhealthy conditions found in the original confinement of mentally ill patients, asylums. The government created mental health asylums, which separated these individuals from their societies,

Unearthed skulls dating back to 6500 BCE have been discovered by archeologists to have large holes drilled into the sides of them. (1) The purpose of the drilling was to release the demon spirits that ruled inside these unfortunate beings. (2) The thought at the time was that strange, disruptive, or unexplainable behaviors demonstrated

Without a solid background in psychology, they won’t be able to differentiate between one disorder and another. For instance, it can be easily mistaken that someone has Bipolar Disorder when they really have Borderline Personality Disorder. Since these two disorders share some similarities, they are often misdiagnosed with the other. Both of these disorders are characterized by mood swings, but the cycles are what separates them from each other (Goldberg, 2016). Someone with Bipolar Disorder will go from intense highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). However, someone with Borderline Personality Disorder will have mood swings that vary between anger, anxiety, and sadness. These cycles usually occur more often than those with Bipolar. With this in mind, the treatments for both disorders are very different. To treat Bipolar Disorder, nurses will prescribe antidepressants or mood stabilizers but Borderline Personality Disorder is treated with psychotherapy. Another factor that may drive medical practitioners to misdiagnose a patient is being overconfident—the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments (Myers, 2004). Overtime, continuously diagnosing patients may create this overconfidence, leading doctors to lack seriousness and motivation. This may also impact the effectiveness of the treatment as well. For example, if a doctor is constantly treating patients with anxiety and patients with Schizophrenia, it may create overconfidence that because the symptoms are very different, they are impossible to be mistaken. Having an understanding of this concept will bring awareness to doctors/nurses that no matter how long they’ve been working, it’s always possible to make a mistake. Clearly, an incorrect diagnosis can lead to the wrong treatment and care, which is why it is necessary to evaluate all symptoms of the

In early American history, individuals with mental illnesses have been neglected and suffered inhuman treatments. Some were beaten, lobotomized, sterilized, restrained, in addition to other kinds of abuse. Mental illness was thought to be the cause of supernatural dreadful curse from the Gods or a demonic possession. Trepanning (the opening of the skull) is the earliest known treatment for individuals with mental illness. This practice was believed to release evil spirits (Kemp, 2007). Laws were passed giving power to take custody over the mentally ill including selling their possessions and properties and be imprisoned (Kofman, 2012). The first psychiatric hospital in the U.S. was the Pennsylvania Hospital where mentally ill patients were left in cold basements because they were considered not affected by cold or hot environments and restraint with iron shackles. They were put on display like zoo animals to the public for sell by the doctors (Kofmen, 2012). These individuals were punished and isolated and kept far out of the eyes of society, hidden as if they did not exist. They were either maintained by living with their families and considered a source of embarrassment or institutionalized

Realistically, diagnosis of a mental illness is only a medical diagnostic tool for the physician and it does not taking into account what the average person is dealing with or living with when they have a mental illness. One of the flaws of mental illness diagnosis is that it does not address the questions like what is the life quality of a patient or what other issues could arise in that patient based on these diagnoses.

During the 1800s, treating individuals with psychological issues was a problematic and disturbing issue. Society didn’t understand mental illness very well, so the mentally ill individuals were sent to asylums primarily to get them off the streets. Patients in asylums were usually subjected to conditions that today we would consider horrific and inhumane due to the lack of knowledge on mental illnesses.

brain, or sending patients to institutions, doctor prescribed pills to try and treat mental conditions. In addition mental health patients were no longer being institutionalized due to the poor conditions in mental institutions (History of Mental Illness”)

In addition to the historical aspect, confusion about mental health is another reason leading to the perception of the mentally ill. The Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, (1999), dispels any confusion by making detailed analogies and information. Mental health and mental illness are not opposites; they are like two points on a continuum. The value of mental health is

The 1950s was a very prevalent time in history; this was due it being seen as a time of recovery and rebuilding after World War II. However, the 1950s is also very heavily known for the surge of development within areas, such as science and mathematics or ‘STEM’, due to the Cold War. This surge did cause major discoveries to be made and advancements, such as the occurrence of the first rocket ship launch in 1950. However, with this surge an area that dearly suffered was the enforcement of medical sciences within schools due to the tracking programs. This has generally caused stigma within internal illnesses, especially mental illnesses, because of the lack of knowledge about the subject. Nevertheless, there have been multiple reasons why mental

By the 1800s, physicians were able to establish that mental illness was connected to a biological disorder and that it could be triggered by different stressors in the individual’s life. They were also able to determine that there was more than one type of mental illness. After this discovery, people started shifting from mental asylums to mental hospitals that would allow the patients to receive specialized treatment that would positively benefit them in accordance to the specific mental afflictions they suffered from. Then, a psychiatrist was assigned to the patient so they could try to identify the stressors in their patient’s life and establish resolutions to eliminate the stressors.

My experience in mental health clinical was very different from any other clinical I had before. In a mental health clinical setting, I am not only treating client’s mental illnesses, I am also treating their medical problems such as COPD, diabetes, chronic renal failure, etc. Therefore, it is important to prepare for the unexpected events. In this mental health clinical, I learned that the importance of checking on my clients and making sure that they are doing fine by performing a quick head-to toes assessment at the beginning of my shift. I had also learned that client’s mental health illness had a huge impact on their current medical illness.

Through the course of time, mental illnesses have always been in existence due to varying factors and causes. However, as time has passed, the perceptions and available treatments for mental illnesses have also changed as new technology was developed. By looking at the treatments and perceptions of mental illnesses in the early 20th century, we can learn how to properly treat and diagnose not only mental disorders but also other conditions as well as show us the importance of review boards and controlled clinical trials.

The ways of Health Care has advanced tremendously over the centuries, specifically, Psychiatric Care. There is a drastic difference between how the mentally impaired were treated in the 1930s and the now, 21st century. People with mental illnesses in the 21st century can be anyone, they’re just another face you see on the sidewalk, no big deal.