By:
Amanda Carlozzi
Gretchen Mobilio
TREATMENT OF THE MENTALLY
ILL IN THE 1800S
How the mentally ill were
treated
 Colonists believed the illnesses were the
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results of witchcraft and demonic
possessions.
Some were even burned at the stake.
Some were left untreated at home or sent to
alms houses. Others were imprisoned.
They were chained in jail cells without
clothes, heat, or bathrooms.
Many were beaten and whipped.
How the mentally ill were
treated (cont.)
 They were crammed into small dark rooms
and slept as much as 5 people to a mattress.
 These rooms were void of fresh air and
sunlight.
 Many doctors did not want to admit that
these people were sick because they were
ridiculed and it would hurt their reputation.
Dorothea Dix
 She was a reformist fighting for the care of
the mentally-ill.
 In 1841, after visiting a prison and seeing the
mentally- ill imprisoned, and chained naked
to the wall she decided to improve the way
the mentally-ill were treated.
Dorothea Dix (cont.)
 As her reports, visits to doctors, and
advances for changes to help protect the
mentally-ill became successful in
Massachusetts, she eventually spread her
thoughts to other parts of the country,
Europe, and Asia, eventually opening 32
mental hospitals.
 By 1880, 120 mental hospitals were opened
around the country
How this Reform Changed
America
 Today there are many more options available for the
mentally ill.
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Non- profit organizations
Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication.
Specialized mental health officials.
These organizations and proper treatments helps a
multitude of people recover from their mental illness or at
least live happier lives.
 This reform not only benefited America, but the rest
of the world as well.
Americans with Disabilities
Act
 In 1990, the American's with Disabilities Act
was passed.
 It is used to put an end to discrimination
against people with disabilities..
 It states that states, local governments,
enterprises, and employers are prohibited to
discriminate against the disabled when
hiring, in public services or accommodations
such as hotels or transit.
ADA (cont.)
 This act also includes help in T.V. and phone
services for the hearing and speech impaired.
 Some of the federal agencies required to
follow the regulations of ADA are:
 Employment agencies
 Public transportation
 Health Care
 Housing
The New Jersey State Lunatic
Asylum
 We chose this picture because it shows the
changes America has gone through from the
original conception of treatment for the
mentally-ill to a proper mental hospital for their
care.
 This was drawn by C. Drie in 1872.
 It is titled ‘Lunatic Asylum rear view.’
Bibliography
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http://www.who2.com/dorotheadix.html
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1092.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3945/is_199904/ai_n8830406/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/index.html
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/menbrief.html
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nc
history/jan2006/asylumlg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lib.unc.edu/ncc/ref/nchistory/jan2006/thismon
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w=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddorothea%2Bdix%2Bhistory%26hl%3Den%
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