In the 1790s, a period of enlightenment concerning persons with mental illness began. Phillippe Pinel in France and William Tukes in England formulated the concept of asylum as a safe refuge or haven offering protection at institutions where people had been whipped, beaten, and starved just because they were mentally ill (Gollaher, 1995).
With this movement began the moral treatment of the mentally ill.
In the United States, Dorothea Dix (1802–1887) began a crusade to reform the treatment of mental illness after a visit to Tukes’ institution in England.
She was instrumental in opening 32 state hospitals that
offered asylum to the suffering. Dix believed that society was obligated to those who were mentally ill and promoted adequate shelter, nutritious food, and warm clothing (Gollaher, 1995).
The period of enlightenment was short-lived. Within 100 years after establishment of the first asylum, state hospitals were in trouble.
Attendants were accused of abusing the residents, the rural location of hospitals was viewed as isolating patients from family and their homes, and the phrase “insane asylum” took on a negative connotation.
