Abstract

Today, unlike in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there are few specialised institutions to care for the mentally ill; they have been replaced with day centres, overstretched hospital wards or prison cells, and – in some areas - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) delivered over the telephone. The treatment of mental illness simply isn’t good enough. In this essay I argue that whilst the demise of the the asylum isn’t necessarily a bad thing, such institutions did have their benefits. They were a sanctuary for some individuals living with mental illness, and the social activities provided as part of treatment led to the formation of friendships and a sense of community, making a world of difference to patients' lives. The sources consulted for the essay include patients' accounts of asylum life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.