Early Mental Health Treatment

 

Early mental health treatment was often quite dangerous for the patients involved. Among the earliest and most common of these treatments were trephination, bloodletting and purging, and isolation in asylums (Peters & Tesar, 2020). Trephination was a process that involved the removal of a small part of the skull using a saw, auger, or bore and was used for thousands of years as a means of treating mental illness, which was at times considered a form of demonic possession. Bloodletting and purging grained prominence in the 17^th century, and it involved a belief that illnesses came about because of an imbalance of humors in the body. A consequence was that bleeding was considered a means of making sure that there was a return of the proper balance of humors in the body. 

Furthermore, there was the belief that bleeding could also help in the treatment of mental illness; a process that would be considered quite unethical in the modern world since there was the use of venesection or leaches. Isolation in asylums was another aspect of mental illness that became popular beginning in the medieval period. The main intention of asylums was to ensure that the individuals affected by mental health problems were kept away from view of their communities and families because during this period, mental illness was often a social stigma. However, in the modern world, the passage of such laws as the National Mental Health Act (1946) allowed for a prioritization of mental health in society. 

Developments in treatments based on a better understanding of mental illnesses have ensured that the safety of patients is prioritized. It is likely that the developments in research and more insight into mental illness will allow for even better treatment methods in future to ensure that there is the enhancement of patient safety.