A Glimpse into the History of Psychiatry

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Recommended: Freud in History of Psychology

A Glimpse into the History of Psychiatry
Purpose: A review of the earliest practices in the treatment of mental illness.
Objectives:
1. Identify the earliest treatments and protocols as documented through history.
2. Understand the historical stigmas and terminology in regards to mental illness.
3. Awareness of the progression in treating the mentally ill.

The Earliest Known History of Psychiatry.
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 by individuals was a direct consequence of demons controlling the persons soul. These behaviors were seen not as a medical condition of any kind, but primarily relating to bad morals. There are Biblical references that Jesus cast out devils in those demonstrating irrational or crazed behaviors. Of course there are also Biblical reference that describe maniacal behavior that Jesus also healed and those individual were thought to simply be ill.
The term used to describe this surgical procedure is trepanning or trephination. It has also been referred to burr holing. Trepanning is hought to be the oldest surgical procedure performed that can be validated by archaeologists. (1) It is also thought to be the first attempt to reign in unruly or deviant behaviors. Mental illness was an unknown in this era. The prevailing thought of the time was that these individuals were ruled by evil spirits. Hippocrates endorsed trepanning, writing explicit instructions in how to perform the surgery.
This d...

... middle of paper ...

...rving, Jenni. May 1, 2013 www.Ancient.eu.com May 1, 2013 Trephination
2. Brothwell, Don R., (1963) Digging up Bones, the Excavation, Treatment and Study of Human Skeletal Remain’s. London British Museum of Natural History.
3.. Arnott, Robert, Finger, Stanley, Smith,Chris (2005 ) Trepanation History, Discovery, Theory Taylor & Francis e Library.
4 Shorter, Edward. (1997) A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac John Wiley & Sons, Inc. USA3.
5. DesRochers, Alyssa March 29, 2012, www.Siarchives.si.edu
6. Tuchman, Barbara. (1978) A Distant Mirror: A Calamitous 14th Century Random House Publishing.
7. Roth, Martin. & Kroll, Jerome (1986) The Reality of Mental Illness. Cambridge University Press
8. Szasz, Thomas. (1974) The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct Harper Paperback, New York, NY

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