History of Mental Illness

Animism

The belief that everyone and everything had a "soul" and that mental illness was due to animistic causes, for example, evil spirits controlling an individual and his/her behavior.

Asylum

A place of refuge or safety established to confine and care for the mentally ill; forerunners of the mental hospital or psychiatric facility.

Biopsychosocial model

A model in which the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors is seen as influencing the development of the individual.

C​athartic method

A therapeutic procedure introduced by Breuer and developed further by Freud in the late 19th century whereby a patient gains insight and emotional relief from recalling and reliving traumatic events.

Cultural relativism

The idea that cultural norms and values of a society can only be understood on their own terms or in their own context.

Etiology

The causal description of all of the factors that contribute to the development of a disorder or illness.

Humorism (or humoralism)

A belief held by ancient Greek and Roman physicians (and until the 19th century) that an excess or deficiency in any of the four bodily fluids, or humors—blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm—directly affected their health and temperament.

Hysteria

Term used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians to describe a disorder believed to be caused by a woman's uterus wandering throughout the body and interfering with other organs (today referred to as conversion disorder, in which psychological problems are expressed in physical form).

Maladaptive

Term referring to behaviors that cause people who have them physical or emotional harm, prevent them from functioning in daily life, and/or indicate that they have lost touch with reality and/or cannot control their thoughts and behavior (also called dysfunctional).

Mesmerism

Derived from Franz Anton Mesmer in the late 18th century, an early version of hypnotism in which Mesmer claimed that hysterical symptoms could be treated through animal magnetism emanating from Mesmer's body and permeating the universe (and later through magnets); later explained in terms of high suggestibility in individuals.

Psychogenesis

Developing from psychological origins.

Somatogenesis

Developing from physical/bodily origins.

Supernatural

Developing from origins beyond the visible observable universe.

Syndrome

Involving a particular group of signs and symptoms.

"Traitement moral" (moral treatment)

A therapeutic regimen of improved nutrition, living conditions, and rewards for productive behavior that has been attributed to Philippe Pinel during the French Revolution, when he released mentally ill patients from their restraints and treated them with compassion and dignity rather than with contempt and denigration.

Trephination

The drilling of a hole in the skull, presumably as a way of treating psychological disorders.