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5000 BCE
Trephining
Also referred to as trepanning or other names, this practice was during the time period that thought of all mental ailments as springing from evil spirits or demon possession or even the wrath of gods. It involved drilling a hole, called a burr hole, into a human skull in order to release tension on the dura matter or release the evil spirits haunting a persons mind. Trephining was one of the earliest treatments for psychological disorders. -
5000 BCE
Exorcism
Exorcisms began during the same era as trephining, but continued on throughout the treatment of psychological disorders. Exorcisms involved holding an afflicted individual under the watch of a priest or other religious figure, whom uses tools such as prayers, holy water, or religious objects such as a crucifix to ward off the evil spirits or demons they believed were possessing a body and causing the mental illness. -
900 BCE
Rhazes
While many treatments in history were cruel, some cultures and figures contributed to ethical treatments. One such example were the ancient Egyptians, who treated mentally illness with community- engaging a sick person with creating art or taking part in as many normal activities as possible to try to bring them back to normalcy. Rhazes, a middle eastern doctor who has made massive contributions to medicine encouraged engaging and speaking to mentally ill patients- encouraged ethical treatments. -
705 BCE
First recorded psychological hospital
While asylums would not become commonplace until many years later, the first recorded mental hospital was in Baghdad in 705 BCE. During this time period families faced huge stigma for their mentally ill relatives, especially throughout christian Europe. This led to abusive treatment of mentally ill individuals, locking them in cellars to stop others from shaming the entire family. This hospital was the first time outside sources stepped in to the treatment of patients. -
400 BCE
Hippocrates and Galen
Hippocrates and Galen were both Greek physicians and philosophers who suggested psychosis stemmed from an illness of the brain, just like a bodily illness, as opposed to demonic. They suggested the body had 4 essential fluids: phlegm, blood, black and yellow bile. All illness must come from an imbalance of these fluids. Treatments consisted of bleeding by leeches, laxatives, or others to balance the fluids. They also mentioned talk therapy in their writings. -
Jan 1, 1550
Asylums
From the mid 16th century to the early 20th century asylums run by the clergy were commonplace. It was seen as the role of the church to take care of mentally ill patients as opposed to a medical model oftentimes. In these asylums patients were abused and subjected to violence, shackled to walls, oftentimes lived without adequate food or shelter in deplorable conditions. Mentally ill patients were forcibly confined in asylums like prisons. -
The Gyrating Chair and Hydrotherapy
Throughout the 1700's and 1800's many dangerous treatments were used to attempt to shock patients into normal brain functioning. A dutch doctor invented the gyrating chair, which patients would be strapped while it would violently shake them. There were no successes with this, it just knocked patients unconscious. Hydrotherapy, dipping patients into scalding or freezing water, was used in the same way. -
Phillipe Pinel
A huge shift in Psychological treatment came at the end of the 1700's with French physician Pinel. Pinel suggested humanism, or moral treatment. He brought about reforms to asylums. A quaker preacher named Tuke also contributed to this movement. Pinel demonstrated it's effectiveness by taking over a failing asylum named La Bicetre with his moral methods and saw vast improvement in the patients. -
Freudian Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud published many textbooks on his theory of the mind and psychoanalysis from the years 1888-1939. He focused largely on mental illness stemming from unconscious conflicts, and brought talk therapy into the mainstream treatment of psychological problems. Hypnosis was also gaining speed as a treatment during this time period in circles related to Freud. -
Electroconvulsive Therapy
During 1934 Hungarian doctors introduced electroshock therapy, as it was then called, to treat disorders like schizophrenia. Similarly to the prior ideas of the gyrating chair or hydrotherapy, doctors believed sending small electric currents through the brain could cure mental distress by changing brain chemistry. It is still used in sever cases occasionally today when patients do not respond to other forms of treatments. -
Lobotomy and Psychosurgery
Pioneered by Portuguese doctor Moniz, a lobotomy consisted of inserting a sharp object, oftentimes an icepick, into the brain to cut ties between different lobes or to remove diseased parts of the brain. Dr. Freeman brought this treatment to America, and throughout the 1940's and 1950's it became very common. However, while some patients symptoms were subdued, others became completely unable to function. -
Modern Psychopharmacology
With the advent of modern medicine, as well as contributions throughout history to the notion of talk therapy, modern treatment for psychological disorders allows patients to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Many medications, such as SSRI's to treat depression and anxiety, and mood stabilizer's are a part of psychopharmacology. Talk therapy includes many branches, from behaviorism shifting the problematic behavior to humanism to psychoanalysis.
