Records, Retrospects and Researches: A Handful of Hospital Histories

Alexander Walk

doi:10.1192/s014007890000715x

Abstract

While sociologists and sociologically-minded historians cast a baleful eye over the global history of mental treatment in the last two centuries, others—consultants, administrators or psychologists, present or past members of psychiatric hospital staffs—prove willing to devote much toil to the writing of detailed, often scholarly and always affectionate accounts of the origins and development of their own respective institutions, produced either spontaneously or on the occasion of some centenary or even bicentenary celebration. For the most part these appear in brochure form, but in a few instances they reach the dimension of full-size hardbacks. An attempt will be made here to review briefly a number of such publications which have appeared in recent years, including one whose authors have chosen to deal with establishments long-since defunct and forgotten, rather than with their own flourishing one.

Highlights

While sociologists and sociologically-minded historians cast a baleful eye over the global history of mental treatment in the last two centuries, others~nsultants, administrators or psychologists, present or past members of psychiatric hospital staffs-prove willing to devote much toil to the writing of detailed, often scholarly and always affectionate accounts of the origins and development of their own respective institutions, produced either spontaneously or on the occasion of some centenary or even bicentenary celebration
For the most part these appear in brochure form, but in a few instances they reach the dimension of fullsize hardbacks
An attempt will be made here to review briefly a number of such publications which have appeared in recent years, including one whose authors have chosen to deal with establishments long-since defunct and forgotten, rather than with their own flourishing one

Summary

Introduction

While sociologists and sociologically-minded historians cast a baleful eye over the global history of mental treatment in the last two centuries, others~nsultants, administrators or psychologists, present or past members of psychiatric hospital staffs-prove willing to devote much toil to the writing of detailed, often scholarly and always affectionate accounts of the origins and development of their own respective institutions, produced either spontaneously or on the occasion of some centenary or even bicentenary celebration. It constitutes probably the most valuable source of information there is for the working of a mental hospital over the years without resorting to original documents.

Results

Conclusion