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1. I found the link between the Enlightenment and the establishment of Asylums to be quite interesting. Although I had not considered it before, it does make sense. The increased interest in secular and logical views helped to develop the beginnings of modern medicine. There was, however, a retaining of religious thought in the form of religious asylums established in the Northeast. I find it interesting that these two worlds- religious/spiritual and logic and reason- found a way to coexist in the form of Asylums, at least for a time. What justifications did the asylum creators/supervisors have for retaining the “religious” part of the asylum network in the Northeast, and how did their views differ from their counterparts in other regions as asylum networks spread across the country? - Evan
2. The establishment of asylums for the mentally ill were done away from population centers, however they became population centers in a sense by virtue of their existence away from cities. In what ways were these areas selected? Did asylum planners buy out farmers land and develop it? - Evan
1. In Chapter 4, wrongful commitment is a fairly rare, but not impossible event. With overcrowding on the horizon by this time, one would expect increased selectiveness. Did the reduction of autonomy and freedom worsen outcomes in questionably confined patients? -RJD
2. On page 105, the chronically insane are said to be largely discharged as their path to recover was essentially non-existent. Was this a universal practice, especially in cases of patients who were chronically insane, but lacking in basic self sufficiency? -RJD
1. How was the economic cost of caring for the mentally ill a factor in the changes in who was considered responsible for that care, as well as in how this care was to be conducted? Was at times the driving factors in change in care based on practical reasons such as this rather than a better understanding of effective mental health treatment? - Morgan Kelley
2. How was the mental health care/psychiatry field driven by its need for legitimacy? Chapter five ends with the public perception of psychiatric hospitals becoming increasingly negative as they become less focused on curing acute conditions and more focused on longterm care for chronic conditions. How might this impact the field and the psychiatric hospitals themselves moving forward? - Morgan Kelley