The+Early+History+of+Psychiatric+Disorders+and+Treatment

Running head: THE EARLY HISTORY OF PSYCRIATRIC DISORDERS AND TREATMENT 1
The Early History of Psychiatric Disorders and Treatment
Ana Paula Silva Santos
William Carey University

THE EARLY HISTORY OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AND TREATMENT 2
The Early History of Psychiatric Disorders and Treatment
Generally, speaking, we can say that anything that escapes most accepted
standards within a society is considered madness. There is no clear separation between
what is normal and what is abnormal. What we can see are norms that change according
to culture. Throughout history that were many ways that mental illness was seen and
treated by society, in ancient times, spiritualism dominated any scientific reasoning,
demons, or bad spirits was thought to be the cause of the abnormal behaviors of the
mentally ill. The main treatment back then was the procedure where a hole was drilled
into the skull of the mentally ill to release the evil spirits that were trapped within the
patient’s head.
The Greeks had a different view towards mental disorders, they did not believe
in supernatural explanations for the disease. Greek physician Hippocrates introduced
four humors of the body that needed to be in balance for the body to be healthy, the
humors were blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm, to him this bodily fluids was
responsible for physical and mental illness, when these humors were out of balance the
patient's personality, physical and mental health were affected. Bloodletting was one
procedure used to balance the humors, blood was drained if there was thought to be too
much, purging and dieting were also used to balance the humors.
Between the 11th and 15th century, supernatural reasons for mental disorders
started to gain power again. Women in the beginning of the 13th were known to be
witches who were possessed if they were mentally ill and witch hunts was a big thing
during that time. And it was only finished around the 18th century, but by then more
than 100,000 women were burned at the stake because they were known to be
“witches”.
In the 18th mental asylums were created, and that is when we would think that
the treatments towards the mentally ill would be more humane and that is where we are
wrong. A huge social stigma was placed on the mentally ill, their families were ashamed
of them, they would try to hide them away from the public, lock them away, and the
asylums were great for that. Living conditions in the asylums were rough and
unsanitary, the patients were chained and left to rot in their own waste. Back them the
mentally ill was compared to animals who did not have the ability to reason, they were
labeled to be violent for no reason, and to not have the same physical sensitivity than
other people so their pain and temperature sensitivity were different, so they believed
the patients could live in those horrible conditions with no problem. In some asylums
other people could even come and visit the patients like if they were animals in a zoo,
and the patients were there for their amusement.
In the 19th mental illness became a subject for science and new psychological
treatments were created. The most known one was the Electroconvulsive therapy that
was invented by two Italian psychiatrists, Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini. This treatment
was an electrical stimulation given on the patient’s brain that caused a seizure and the
seizure would improve the symptoms of the mentally ill. This treatment would affect
the chemicals of the brain and would improve behavior and mood in the patient. ECT is
known to not cause any structural damage to the brain and it remains a controversial
method of psychiatric treatment.
In the 20th thanks to Freud psychoanalysis was the dominant psychogenic
treatment for mental illness. In this theory Freud believed that people could be cured if
they made their unconscious thoughts and motivations conscious. The main point is to
release repressed emotions and experiences. But the somatogenic treatments were still
around, the leading treatment could be found in the establishment of the first
psychotropic medications. Let’s not forget that many treatments were still around in this
time like, ECT, lobotomies and restraints.
To speak about a different culture, I will write a little bit about mine. In Brazil
there was not really known treatments for mental illness until the asylums in the 18th
century. The first psychiatric institutions in Brazil do not have a good history, the
omission of the state, the failure of science, and the fragility of psychiatric patients acted
together and contributed to various human rights violations, which generated scenes of
unimaginable suffering, degradation and massacre of thousands of people. After reading
about the early psychiatric facilities It could be concluded that despite the effort and
cooperation of the Santa Casas spread in Brazil it was not sufficient to provide adequate
medical and social assistance to these individuals. They were helpless by society and
rejected by their families. They were left with only confinement, they lived in isolation
from everything and everyone, a situation that brought them no mental, social, or moral
benefit, and they lost human dignity. Another thing to know about Brazil is how
religion is a big factor in the culture, not only in the past but nowadays as well. In
Brazil, traditionally, since before the discovery by the Portuguese, there were certain
situations, influenced by myths, considered as possessions, back them they would
believe in possessions by animals. And nowadays we still have in our day, in full swing,
the situations of spirit possessions, the situations of demonic possessions and the
situations of deities possessions. Most of the population in Brazil specially in the
Northeast in a situation of a psychiatric disorder would first jump to the conclusion of
some religious reason, and then maybe think about a more scientific explanation.
Even though we like to believe that we are much better nowadays and above the
treatments showed in this paper, and above the beliefs of certain cultures let’s not forget
that the way we think today still reflects the same somatogenic and psychogenic
theories of mental illness we saw throughout history.

References
Hagerty, B. M. . W. R. A. . C. J. C., Early, M. R., Hagerty, B. M., Williams, R. A.,
Coyne, J. C., & Early, M. R. (1996). History of Psychiatric Treatment. Archives
of Psychiatric Nursing, 10(4), 235–244. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=hpi&AN=HaPI-132210&site=eds-live
Farreras, I. G. (2019). History of mental illness. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener
(Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers.
Retrieved from http://noba.to/65w3s7ex
Admnews. (2019, April 28). Saude Mental: Um historia de conflitos ou uma dura
realidade. Retrieved from https://administradores.com.br/artigos/saude-mental-
um-historia-de-conflitos-ou-uma-dura-realidade

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Running head: THE EARLY HISTORY OF PSYCRIATRIC DISORDERS AND TREATMENT 1

The Early History of Psychiatric Disorders and Treatment

Ana Paula Silva Santos

William Carey University

The Early History of Psychiatric Disorders and Treatment

standards within a society is considered madness. There is no clear separation between

treated by society, in ancient times, spiritualism dominated any scientific reasoning,

in supernatural explanations for the disease. Greek physician Hippocrates introduced

and the patients were there for their amusement.

method of psychiatric treatment.

In the 20th thanks to Freud psychoanalysis was the dominant psychogenic

time like, ECT, lobotomies and restraints.

unimaginable suffering, degradation and massacre of thousands of people. After reading

situations, influenced by myths, considered as possessions, back them they would

situations of deities possessions. Most of the population in Brazil specially in the

Northeast in a situation of a psychiatric disorder would first jump to the conclusion of

theories of mental illness we saw throughout history.

Hagerty, B. M. . W. R. A. . C. J. C., Early, M. R., Hagerty, B. M., Williams, R. A.,

Coyne, J. C., & Early, M. R. (1996). History of Psychiatric Treatment. Archives

of Psychiatric Nursing, 10(4), 235–244. Retrieved from

Farreras, I. G. (2019). History of mental illness. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener

(Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers.

Retrieved from http://noba.to/65w3s7ex

realidade. Retrieved from https://administradores.com.br/artigos/saude-mental-

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