Capstone Project - Pt.4 (Documentary)

Documentary watched

For this part of my capstone, I decided to take a trip back in time and look at the status of mental health services in the past. Though I could not find anything from the 20s, which was what I was looking for, I did find an extremely interesting, and amazing substitute titled: Bedlam: The History of Bethlem Hospital. By the title you can assume what the documentary is about, which is Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, England, or rather it's dark but promising times during the mid 1600s to the late 1700s when it saw a great deal of innovations (though not all good) in the treatment of the mentally ill, the diagnosis of mental illness, and developed the colloquial name of "Bedlam" which means "A scene of uproar and confusion". 

"Dr. Francis Willis" demonstrating "The Eye"

Throughout the film, the story of the famed mental hospital is told by historians who explain it's origins as a hospital, many of the strange characters that resided or worked within the secret building, and even King George III who was known to suffer great bouts of madness throughout his reign with the addition of dramatic reenactments of such events. This method of storytelling works quite well and keeps the audience quite entertained. One such reenactment involved King George's Psychiatric physician at the time Dr. Francis Willis who had the ability to control patients who were too boisterous and could be violent by using "The Eye". Basically, his gaze was so oppressive, it would subdue even the most unruly of patients. Though quite comedic,

Hydrotherapy Bath

it's interesting to see the types of treatment methods created by these doctors. Many treatments most likely would be considered torture in this day and age including submerging them in cold water for hours at a time, bloodletting, purging, and burning them. Though done with good intentions. they frequently did nothing. 

The "Air Loom"

There are no elements of media as this is a very historical documentary, though there is another source of info, and it comes from the story of James Tilly Matthews, a patient in Bethlem who was committed after interrupting a debate in the House of Commons by shouting "Treason!" at Lord Liverpool which prompted his arrest beforehand. Though his family tried to free James, the apothecary of Bethlem, John Haslam, fought the motion and eventually won, especially after the publication of "Illustrations of Madness" which was a collection of interviews from Matthews. These regarded various subjects about mind control by the means of a machine known as the Air Loom powered by the french with such terms as "Lobster Cracking" and "Stomach Skinning". Sounds quite reminiscent of modern day conspiracy theories regarding government mind control via satellites and aliens doesn't it? Through this publication, we have the first case study of a person with obvious schizophrenia. James Tilly Matthews, despite his bewildering mental process, was quite brilliant, and was given many freedoms within the hospital, such as tending to a garden. 

"Melancholia and Mania" by Caius Gabriel Cibber
which adorned the entrance of Bethlem in 1676 

There is no obvious bias in the film, it clearly tells you all that went on in Bethlem and that is why it fits well with my research, it connects in such a way that it shows the difference between institutions then and them now. There are pros and cons to both. On one hand, Bethlem was ahead of it's time, and many people were able to get treatment, but these people were manipulated and exploited by being put on display for anyone who was willing to pay and walk the halls of the hospital, thus making them a tourist attraction essentially. As for it's modern day counterpart, people are not exploited whatsoever, and they are getting treatment that actually helps their conditions, but there are so few places to go, not to mention many do not seek treatment due to the stigma associated with mental illness that could be attributed to historical representations of it, such as what happened in Bethlem Royal Hospital...

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The O'Hallon's Swing

For the second half of this portion, I decided to propose a field trip opportunity to the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, which is roughly 7 and 1/2 hours from Eau Claire. Formerly held in a ward of the once defunct State Lunatic Asylum #2 until moving to an expansive building nearby to make room for the asylum to be turned into a prison, the museum was the brainchild of an employee of the Missouri mental health system George Glore. Opened in 1967, it has been in operation ever since and features a variety of exhibits, four floors worth in fact, that entail the history of treatments such as a human sized hamster wheel, a working model of an "O'Hallon's Swing" which would spin an unruly patient at 100 rpm, and more "modern" treatments like the lobotomy and fever cabinets used during George's time working in the system. All of these are shown with mannequins that we happily donated by a department store. There is even a Bethlem exhibit (How perfect, right?)

Collage of swallowed objects

As well as a history of treatments, there is also an entire collection within itself regarding patient art. Such legacies include a collage of 1,446 items extracted from a woman's stomach, which were, but not limited to, 453 nails, 42 screws, safety pins, spoon tops, and salt and pepper shakers. Another patient collected over 100,000 cigarette boxes, which he thought would get him a new wheelchair from the cigarette companies. There are many more, including a lot of contemporary art.

Though George passed in 2010, the museum still thrives, and is open Monday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm, and Sundays: 1pm - 5pm. It is closed on all major holidays. 

Tickets are extremely cheap:

Adults: $6.00

Seniors (62 and above): $5.00

Students: $4.00

Children under 6: Free

Museum Members: Free

For more information regarding this possible field trip location:

http://stjosephmuseum.org/museums/glore/

Documentary Annotation:

Bedlam: The History of Bethlem Hospital. Dir. Joe Matthews. Perf. Timothy Watson, Jonathan Andrews. The History Channel, 2009. Film.

Bethlem Royal Hospital in the UK has a sordid history which eventually led to the colloquially accurate nickname of Bedlam, which means chaos. Along with backgrounds of the more prolific residents at the hospital, including Margaret Nicholson who attempted to assassinate King George III, as well as the doctors and apothecaries who became famous for their now torturous treatment of patients under their care.The documentary is strictly very factual and history based. Because of this, there is no obvious bias and is helpful in showing how mental health facilities functioned in the very early days of treatment for those who wouldn't have gotten help otherwise.This definitely fits well with my capstone because I’m focusing on history for this part of my research and was looking for something that spoke of the earlier days.  

Capstone Project - Pt.3 (Articles) (2 of 2)

As well as having a discussion with one of my peers, I also took up the task of designing an informational poster based upon what I read in my articles as well as all that I have viewed from my TV Show as well. 
The annotations for this part of the capstone can be found of the other articles post.

Capstone Project - Pt.3 (Articles) (1 of 2)

Recently, I was tasked with looking over a variety of articles pertaining to my topic. After this, I took to the social media website facebook to discuss some questions that were raised after reading with a friend of mine from another class who knows about the system quite well due to their mental illness. I cannot disclose their name for privacy reasons, so they will be known as "M". This is what our discussion entailed:

Facebook Messenger Icon

Kenz: "Awesome :) okay...where to start?...I don't want to be offensive or anything...hmm...In your experience with our current mental health treatment, if there is any, have you noticed any gaps that could be cause for concern? Any troubling trends?"

M: "(You really won’t offend me.) I think there are many gaps as far as treatment goes simply because a lot of people don’t seek treatment. One reason being the stigma attached to mental illness. For example: the mentally ill are lazy. They’re faking it. They can get over it. It’s a choice. They’re violent. Less intelligent. People don’t want to label themselves as mentally ill because of all the negatives associated with it. People also are unwilling to admit when something is wrong. We are taught to push through and persevere. We are taught that our attitude deters our success. In addition, that we determine our attitude. Therefore, to admit that you don't feel mentally well is to feel like a failure. Another is the limited funding insurance companies put towards mental health. Most limit the number of hours of counseling or what medications you can take. Finally, people are scared of the side effects of treatment. Some medications have nasty side effects like Parkinson's like tremors, lowered immune systems, and infertility."

Kenz: "Okay, wow that is exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you. I remember hearing that insurance companies are extremely unwilling to prolong needed treatment, so it's good to hear that corroborated. Another question I have is do you think it was a good idea to close many of our former state mental illness treatment facilities like they did in the late 50s into the 80s?"

M: "I think it was a good idea to stop the methods of treatment they used in the 50's. They were extremely unethical and ineffective. I also am not a huge fan of state mental hospitals because they are often overcrowded and run similar to prisons. I'd prefer more funding put towards local mental health hospitals mostly of the public variety however."

Stamp Out The Stigma Poster

Kenz: "I can understand that, the main concern though is that there are so few of those local mental health hospitals, can you concur?"

M: "There are. In addition, they are often quite full. Sometimes people are shipped off to other counties just to get inpatient treatment. We're lucky in Eau Claire to have three hospitals all quite capable of handling at least outpatient care."

Kenz: "I've never heard of that before, but that is good to hear. Do you feel that outpatient care works better than inpatient care?"

M: "No. Different things work for different people. I prefer outpatient because I can keep attending school more or less. Some people need inpatient care because they are suicidal and a danger to themselves or need a therapeutic setting for treatment."

Kenz: "That makes sense. Finally, do you think we've made steps forward in this field? Or are we slowly moving in reverse to times where people living with mental health issues were basically cast aside and mistreated?"

M: "I think were stagnating. With every step we take forward treatment wise, we take another one back when the media demonizes those who are mentally different or turns them into a comic relief."

Kenz: "That is perfect, exactly what I was looking for. You really made me think, and I couldn't agree more."

M: "Yay! Good, good. I’m glad to help. I know a lot about this topic."

I was greatly surprised but at the same time expecting such answers. Throughout this research, I've discovered the overwhelming correlation between the stagnation as "M" calls it and the stigma associated with mental illness. If more people do not seek help, then facilities will remain unchanged. Many of my articles related to this issue. Their links will be posted below on both this post and my next post regarding articles. 

Articles Annotations:

Scholarly Article

National Conference of State Legislatures. "As they see it." State Legislatures 1.1 (2014): 1. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

Basically, the article is just a list of what certain want to do with their states and how much money they are asking for. One senator in particular, Darrell Steinberg (D) of California, asked for $50 million dollars to restore services once offered to the mentally ill who break the law. No word yet on what happened with that, since it happened last month. There’s no bias, it’s stating the fact that a public official wants to improve the welfare of the mentally ill. It is extremely helpful, because it shows there might be hope out there for those with mental illness and break the law. This fits into my research by showing that not everything is going poorly. There is a silver lining basically thanks to what this California senator wants to do.

Scholarly Article #2

Boardman, Judith B.. "Health access and integration for adults with serious and persistent mental illness." Families, Systems & Health 1 (2006): 1. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

Because of mental illness, very few people suffering such a fate, face many barriers that make it hard for them to integrate into the general population. Since  the closing of many institutions in the 1950s and well into the 1980s, people who are unable to function without round the clock care are left in despair, and most likely end up in the emergency room. With health care costs shooting through the roof, this is close to becoming another failed solution that can no longer be continued.There are no bias, it is clear and concise what the article is speaking about: the welfare of todays mentally ill and how they are unable to get the proper care they need. This fits well into my research by showing a bit of history whilst  showing that the system today is still not well.   

Scholarly Article #3

Bathje, Geoff J., and John B. Pryor. "The relationships of public and self-stigma to seeking mental health services." Journal of Mental Health Counseling 1 (2011): 1.Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.\

This article speaks about the stigma associated with having any kind of mental illness and how it prevents people from seeking proper help,  the most prevalent being self stigma despite the increased awareness of mental health services. It goes on to say that people do not want to be labelled as mentally ill, and that by seeking treatment, they accept the label which hurts their self esteem. There is no bias within this article, it is obviously a study to see the factors associated with why people are not seeking the help they need. This fits well into my research by showing certain factors of why people do not get proper help  besides the fact that certain facilities are not capable of helping.

News Article

Ball, Andrea . "Future is uncertain for mental health care." The Austin American-Statesman 2 July 2006: 1. Gale Student resources in context. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

This news article from Austin, TX talks about the growing uncertainty of mental health services in Travis County. More people are having to go into treatment, but  expecting a 10% cut in funds,  it’s extremely hard for people to get care. Ranked 47th in the category of funding for such services it’s extremely hard for people to get care. In one clinic, there’s over an eight month waiting list, and it keeps going downhill. No bias is present in the article, it is very clear and concise, giving statistics to back up the information it’s providing. It is helpful because it shows that not just one state  is having issues, all states are having issues. This fits into my research by backing up the idea of our mental health institutions being unfunded and overwhelmed, which is one of the things I wish to show.

News Article #2

Lansberg, Gerald . "Shootings show need for mental health care." CNN Wire[Atlanta] 18 Sept. 2013: 1. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

After many school and other shootings carried out by people with mental illness, awareness is being brought to the attention of the public. The most recent event as stated in the article, the Washington Navy Yard shootings, shows that the perpetrator was written off as alright, which of course ended badly. This was a continuing trend and still is, which is troubling.This article shows no bias, it states the facts of the prolific shootings of last year and is helpful in showing that there is many issues regarding how mental illness is diagnosed and what is done to treat it.I feel this fits well into my research because it shows that diagnoses of mental illness is not always straight forward, and that most do not seek proper help.