Mental Healthcare in the United States: A Review of Our History
A Review of Our History The history of mental illness in the United States illustrates how our understanding of mental illness and trends in treating mental health influence both our attitude toward mental illness and national policy governing mental healthcare. For centuries many cultures viewed serious mental illnesses as a religious problem, religious punishment, or even demonic possession. Hippocrates was an early pioneer in treating mental illness in the 5th century B.C. Rather than pointing to religious and paranormal causes, Hippocrates directed his attention toward changing the patient's environment or occupation and administering oral treatments as medication. Despite his work, the belief that the mentally ill were demonically possessed continued into the 18th century in the U.S. The belief surrounding possession and mental illness led to the unhygienic and degrading confinement of people with serious mental illnesses until the early 19th century. The work of activist/lo...