Friends Asylum Research Paper

Words: 1446
Pages: 6

Dorothea Dix theorized, "Man is not made better by being degraded; he is seldom restrained from crime by harsh measures, except the principle of fear predominates in his character; and then he is never made radically better for its influence” (Lewis). This quote suggests that belittling or punishing a person does not change their character, nor does it improve them. Harsh punishment creates fear that can motivate a person to change, which nineteenth century insane asylums resorted to in order to rehabilitate their patients; nonetheless, this approach demonstrated that even fear cannot reform character. Notorious for their horrifying “treatments,” insane asylums of the past put patients through hell and back, believing that this would remove insane tendencies trapped inside their bodies. …show more content…
Although deaths happened, the number of cured and discharged patients outweighed the number of deaths; furthermore, illnesses combined with little medical equipment available caused the majority of deaths in the asylum. This report established Friends Asylum and the embedment of moral treatment into the asylum as successful. Patients admitted to Friends Asylum experienced benefits of moral treatment. From the beginning of Friends asylum artists depicted the building with windows, patients outside, and animals surrounding them, showing the importance of the outdoors and community (Lehman). Busied with activities such as walks, ball games, farming, gardening, and animals, kept any insane tendencies and thoughts that occurred within the patients preoccupied (“Occupational Therapy”). Friends Asylum did not try to isolate patients from the world, instead patients performed routine tasks, and experienced the same care friends and family would. Scattergood understood the impact that community, physical activity, and the outside environment had on patients’ mental