Early considerations of mental illness - Lesson 14

Hippocrates

Known for: Early biological theory of mental illness.

Hippocrates' Beliefs

Mental illness comes from natural causes, not supernatural.

Hippocrates' Humoral Theory

Proposed humoral theory — imbalance of four bodily fluids (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) causes illness.

Hippocrates' Impact

Shifted thinking toward biological explanations; foundational to medical models.

Galen

Known for: Expanding Hippocrates' humoral theory.

Galen's Beliefs

Mental illness linked to bodily imbalances, especially temperament (e.g., melancholic, sanguine).

Galen's Treatments

Recommended treatments like bloodletting.

Galen's Impact

Dominated medical views of mental health for centuries.

Robert Burton

Known for: The Anatomy of Melancholia (1621).

Burton's Beliefs

Emphasized a psychological approach to depression.

Burton's View on Melancholy

Saw melancholy as a complex mental and emotional condition, not just physical.

Burton's Impact

Early move toward recognizing subjective experience in mental illness.

Philippe Pinel

Known for: Pioneer of moral treatment in asylums.

Pinel's Beliefs

Advocated humane care for the mentally ill (e.g., removing chains).

Pinel's View on Mental Illness

Saw mental illness as curable with compassionate care.

Pinel's Impact

Revolutionized asylum treatment; foundational to modern psychiatric reform.

Dorothea Dix

Known for: U.S. activist for the mentally ill.

Dix's Beliefs

Pushed for state-funded mental hospitals.

Dix's View on Treatment

Believed the mentally ill deserved treatment, not punishment.

Dix's Impact

Influenced the creation of state psychiatric hospitals.

Emil Kraepelin

Known for: Creator of the Kraepelinian Dichotomy.

Kraepelin's Types of Mental Illness

Split mental illness into two types: Dementia praecox (early schizophrenia) — progressive deterioration; Manic-depressive illness — cyclical and partially recoverable.

Kraepelin's Impact

Set the stage for modern psychiatric diagnosis; influenced DSM and ICD systems.

Lightner Witmer

Known for: Founder of clinical psychology.

Witmer's Beliefs

Advocated applied psychology to help individuals, especially children.

Witmer's Impact

Originated the practice of psychology as a profession for treatment.

Franz Mesmer

Known for: Founder of mesmerism (early hypnosis).

Mesmer's Beliefs

Illness caused by disrupted animal magnetism; healing by rebalancing energy.

Mesmer's Impact

Paved way for hypnosis and suggestibility research, despite being viewed as pseudoscience.

Jean-Martin Charcot

Known for: Studying hysteria and using hypnosis in diagnosis.

Charcot's Beliefs

Hysteria was a neurological disorder, not malingering.

Charcot's View on Hysteria

Both men and women could suffer from it.

Charcot's Impact

Advanced neurological understanding of mental illness; influenced Freud and others on psychogenic origins of symptoms.

Silas Weir Mitchell

Known for: Developer of the Rest Cure.

Mitchell's Beliefs

Mental illness in women stemmed from nervous exhaustion (neurasthenia).

Mitchell's Treatments

Treated with isolation, massage, forced feeding, and inactivity.

Mitchell's Impact

The Rest Cure became a standard treatment for women — later critiqued for being repressive and disempowering (e.g., The Yellow Wallpaper by Gilman).

Humoral Theory

Biological imbalance causes illness.

Moral Treatment

Humane care over confinement.

Medical Model vs. Biopsychosocial

Kraepelin pushed a strictly biological classification, rejecting more integrative approaches.

Psychological vs. Supernatural vs. Biological Models

Longstanding tension across history.

Hysteria & Gender Bias

Charcot challenged female-only hysteria assumptions; highlighted neurological underpinnings.

Neurasthenia

Reflects cultural and gendered assumptions in diagnosis.