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Friends and Families of Psychiatric Survivors of Wisconsin
Dr. Benjamin Rush and Moral Treatment

Dr. Thomas Kirkbride believed that people with mental problems should be treated with dignity and respect.
 

Beautiful, tranquil surroundings.
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Dr. Thomas Kirkbride was the director of Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, from 1841 to 1883.

This is not a link.
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The picture to the right is a link, though.

Moral treatment had represented a profound change in America's attitude toward the mentaly ill. For a brief shining moment, the mentally ill were welcomed into the human family. The mad, the insane, the manic-depressive---those with mental disorders were perceived as suffering from great distress, yet still fully human. This was an attitude consonant with the noblest impulses of democracy, and with the spirit of the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." Even the mad were worthy of being treated with respect and decency.
 
------from Mad in America, by Robert Whitaker, Chapter 3, "Unfit to Breed"

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Sorry, this page is still under contruction.
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But, if you click this picture, you will get a Website about moral treatment, to get you started.

Many sites on the Web have reviews of Mr. Whitaker's book, Mad in America. Some of the reviewers are well-paid pro-force advocates. They have nothing good to say about the book. But, they're not always honest about their reasons. They try to make it sound scientific. Be careful.