Lucy Reed

Period 6
History of Psychological Treatments
1. When did the modern idea that mental disorders were diseases not spiritual afflictions begin?
The modern notion of mental disorders as diseases of the mind rather than something with a moral or
religious dimension began to take shape during the 19th century.
2. Why was Elizabeth Packard committed to an asylum? She was committed as insane because she
would not agree with the religious beliefs of her husband.
3. What was Sigmund Freud's contribution to mental illness treatment? Freud was one of the key
people in pulling the domain of anxiety into the mental health field
4. What types of drugs were introduced in the 1950's to treat mental illness? New drugs including
antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs as well as tranquilizers and stimulants.
5. What did Dr. Thomas Szasz think about mental illness? That there is no such thing as mental
illness, it's simply people trying to get a free ride, they're just acting
6. What were some of the issues surrounding closing asylums? The difficulty was that it was easier to
close the big asylums than it was to create large numbers of smaller institutions. What really
happened between 1960 and 1980 was that the asylums dumped their inmates onto the streets of
cities.
7. How were antidepressant drugs discovered? What happened was that there was a molecule that
was derived from chlorpromazine that a drug company in Europe was studying. They were used on
some patients with schizophrenia in some private hospitals in Switzerland. One of the researchers
decided to try it on his severely depressed patients, and much to his surprise it actually changed their
behaviour.
8. What seems to drive the modern social view of mental illness?
9. Why are there disagreements about the perception and opinions about mental illness? Debate over
whether we are catching too many of life's normal experiences and behaviours in the mental illness
net has continued. There will continue to be debate over people who may have spectrum disorders or
a mild forms of depression which allow them to function.
10. What two things define us as humans that mental illness can destroy? Having relationships with
human beings and having a productive way in the world