History Of Asylums Notes

In Victorian times women could be locked away in mental asylums for things like:

1946 President Truman signed law in aims to reduce mental illness in USA (the National Mental Health Act) that paved the way for the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) in 1949
1950's-1960's: a wave on deinstitutionalizing begins, moving patients from psychiatric hospitals to outpatient or less restrictive conditions and prompting push for outpatient care
Over a 30 year period the number of institutionalized patients dropped from 560,000 in 1950 to 130,000 in 1980
2008-2010: Law passes to make insurances make mental health benefits equal to that of other benefits
In early 1900's Sigmund Freud introduced talk therapy but it took months or even years to see benefits
Because of the time Freud's methods took they decided to dabble in more radicul cures hoping to eliminate mental illness all together

This work continued in some institutions until 40's-50's
In 40's ad 50's chemists began experimenting with powders and pills to calm the imbalances inside the brain - using a form of chemical restraint instead of strapping patients to beds or talk therapy
When starting to transfer patients to less restrictive units more talk therapy resumed and patient numbers dramatically reduced in the 1980's