When art therapy went chemical: Alfred Bader, pharmacology, and art brut, c.1950-1970s.

This article analyzes how psychopharmacology transformed the relationship between art and psychiatry. It outlines a novel genealogy of art therapy, repositioning its origins in the context of evolving clinical practices and discourses on mind-altering drugs. Evaluating the use of psychotropic drugs in connection with psychopathology of art in the first half of the twentieth century, the article then focuses on two post-Second World War experiments involving psilocybin conducted by psychiatrist Alfred Bader and pharmacologist Roland Fischer. Illustrating how consciousness was foregrounded in discussions about mental health and illness, the examples showcase how psychotherapists increasingly sought to articulate art brut and modernist aesthetics in a neurobiological fashion to define madness as a social disease.

Diagnosing the "master mechanism of the universe" in interwar and war-era America.

Drawing on personal testimonials and questions addressed to psychiatric hospital officials, this article explores how patients and their loved ones engaged with the idea of diagnosis in interwar and war-era America. I argue that diagnosis had synergies with intellectual sensibilities of American modernity, among them an enthusiasm for science and newness, a modernist sense of time that could be both forward- and backward-looking, and a knowable, interpreted self. While self-understanding and the creation of life narratives were more often considered the bailiwick of psychoanalysis in this period, understanding subjectivity and self-interpretation were not solely expressed in its conceptual vocabulary. Patient and family dialogs with diagnosis and psychiatric authorities allow for an illumination of the interaction between domestic intuitions, common sense, and folk wisdom, on the one hand, and institutional taxonomy, categorization, and scientific terminology on the other, or more broadly, between dispositions that are ostensibly antimodern and more modern ideas. I suggest that the protean and wide-ranging intellectual origins of the discipline of psychiatry, along with the inherent ambiguity of psychiatric diagnosis during the early 20th century, allowed patients to participate in their own medicalization in the most capacious way possible: by combining biology with diagnostic narrative capacities, as well as broader perceptions of morality and character. In the concluding reflection, I speculate about why it is that late 20th-century American critics and activists have tended to view diagnosis and medicalization as coercive and threatening, in contrast to earlier 20th-century patients and their intimate observers.

'Insanity in Classical Antiquity', by JL Heiberg (1913).

Heiberg's 1913 text on psychopathological concepts and terms in classical times remains important because of its freshness and historiographical value. A philologist and classical scholar, he seemed puzzled by the assumption of nosological continuity between classical categories of madness and current ones that prevailed at the time among historians of medicine and psychiatry. Heiberg's text acts as a bridge or transition between the nosological antiquarianism of the 19th century and histories of psychiatry that later warned of the dangers of an anachronistic reading of earlier medical texts. It also shows how important has been the contribution of classical philologists to the study of the history of madness. To our knowledge, this is the first rendition into English of the complete Danish work.

Drugs for mental illnesses in ancient greek medicine.

Drugs with psychedelic, hypnotic, narcotic, analgesic, suppressive, euphoric and stimulating effects were used in various ways during the ancient times. We can classify drug use in ancient times into two main categories. On the one hand, ancient physicians prescribed drugs based on their pharmaceutical-therapeutic actions. On the other hand, people not pertaining to medicine and not relating to its accurate implementation often abused drugs to achieve an euphoric state of mind, either for personal gratification or as an indispensable element of religion and mythology. Ancient Greek medical literature contains ample prescriptions and recipes indicating that plants were the essential components of drugs. Pedanius Dioscorides dedicated his lifetime's work to the synthesis of ancient drugs. One can find a plethora of information concerning the production methods and the plants used in drugs for the treatment of psychiatric diseases. These were herbs like black and white hellebore, mandrake, hyoscyamus (henbane), Papaver somniferum (also known as opium poppy), Strychnos, Frankincense-tree and dorycnium. The preparation of narcotics included the addition of other elements, mainly wine, to the opus of plants or to their extracts. Drugs were produced via methods of dehumidification/desiccation, grinding, squeezing or boiling of the plants' roots with a formation of a juice, oil or mush extract. In addition, drugs could also be inhaled if burnt. Many physicians of antiquity, such as Hippocrates, Galen, Ctesias and Aretaeus of Cappadocia, all refer to many of these aforementioned drugs analyzing the different symptoms which they could address, and the risks accompanying their use. Physicians of antiquity used drugs for the treatment of somatic, as well as psychiatric disorders. Most of these drugs affected the central nervous system. Taking advantage of their analgesic properties, physicians used them for the management of severe and chronic painful conditions. The hypnotic effects of some drugs were desirable in order to be used as anesthetics for surgical operations and cauterization. Drug use was also established in the initial treatment of epilepsy and seizures, regardless of their cause. Public rituals and mythology were the two main contexts in which drug use flourished, outside the realms of medicine. The psychotropic and especially the hallucinatory effects of drugs caused the person under their influence to lose control, rendering him incapable of governing his actions and thoughts. These consciousness-altering medications were frequently the central focus of mythology. In this case, one would dictate and give orders to another person, which under any other circumstances would not be carried out. This led to the formation of the concept of the magic potion. Theophrastus frequently referred to magic potions.

Showers: from a violent treatment to an agent of cleansing.

In the early nineteenth century, physicians designed the first manufactured showers for the purpose of curing the insane. Sustained falls of cold water were prescribed to cool hot, inflamed brains, and to instil fear to tame impetuous wills. By the middle of the century showers had appeared in both asylums and prisons, but shower-related deaths led to their decline. Rather than being abandoned, however, the shower was transformed by the use of warm water to economically wash the skins of prison and asylum populations. In stark contrast to an involuntary, deliberately unpleasant treatment, by the end of the century the shower was a desirable product for the improvement of personal hygiene and population health.

[Letters from Paul Julius Möbius to Auguste-Henri Forel : " that the harmony of perceptions on this novel point is also repeated on completely different issues"]. / Briefe von Paul Julius Möbius an Auguste-Henri Forel : " , daß die Harmonie der Auffassungen an neuem Punkte auch an ganz anderen Stellen sich wiederholt".

This article provides an analysis of the content of 15 letters and postcards written by the Leipzig neurologist Paul Julius Möbius to his Zurich-based colleague Auguste-Henri Forel between 1889 and 1902. Moreover, they are set in the context of the works of the two correspondence partners. The 15 documents preserved at the University of Zurich Medico-Historical Institute and Museum comprise one half of the correspondence, whereas the letters Forel sent in response do not seem to have been preserved. So far, biographic research has neglected the letters analyzed here. Hypnotism and medical suggestion as well as their effects and efficiency in treating and maybe healing certain nervous and mental disorders, primarily psychoneuroses but also certain somatic disorders, formed the bond that connected Möbius and Forel. The exchange was less concerned with discussing details or concepts of hypnosis. Möbius seemed to be more interested in studying the practical application with Forel. Moreover, Möbius and Forel shared the view that contemporary, largely brain-biologically oriented conventional psychiatry had largely neglected or at least underestimated the psychological component of both nervous and mental disorders. Both shared the notion that electrotherapy, widely used at the time, had a strong suggestive component. The letters revealed that both correspondents requested reviews or discussion of their own papers from each other. Forel invited Möbius to consider writing for his Zeitschrift für Hypnotismus (Journal for Hypnotism). The correspondence also revealed that their harmony in certain views did not prevent them from refusing requests made by the other. The letters discussed in this article enrich the knowledge on these two prominent neurologists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

'The present state and statistical observation of mental patients under home custody', by Kure Shuzo and Kashida Goro (1918).

This text, dealing with the private confinement of the mentally ill at home, or shitaku kanchi, has often been referred to as a 'classic text' in the history of Japanese psychiatry. Shitaku kanchi was one of the most prevalent methods of treating mental disorders in early twentieth-century Japan. Under the guidance of Kure Shuzo (1865-1932), Kure's assistants at Tokyo University inspected a total of 364 rooms of shitaku kanchi across Japan between 1910 and 1916. This text was published as their final report in 1918. The text also refers to traditional healing practices for mental illnesses found throughout the country. Its abundant descriptions aroused the interest of experts of various disciplines.

[Almas delirantes (1925) by Luís Cebola: the poetics of the human psyche and the physician as mediator between the universe of mental illness and society]. / Almas delirantes (1925) por Luís Cebola: a poética da psique humana e o médico como mediador entre o universo da doença mental e a sociedade.

Lúis Cebola's 1925 work Almas delirantes [Delusional Souls] presented various psychopathologies through metaphorical and lyrical portraits rather than from a medical/ scientific point of view, showing that he perceived his patients as more than objects of scientific study in a process of identification, empathy, and compassion. Cebola defined psychopathological states according to contrast with normality, but stressed that these diseases could arise in any individual, and the book simultaneously acted as a warning to readers. The text also publicized the Museum of Madness [Museu da Loucura], which he created at the Casa de Saúde do Telhal, and the art produced by his patients, positioning himself as a messenger between the closed universe of the psychiatric hospital and Portuguese society.

Almas delirantes (1925) por Luís Cebola: a poética da psique humana e o médico como mediador entre o universo da doença mental e a sociedade / Almas delirantes (1925) by Luís Cebola: the poetics of the human psyche and the physician as mediator between the universe of mental illness and society

Resumo Luís Cebola publicou em 1925 o volume Almas delirantes, onde apresentava diversas psicopatologias não de um ponto de vista médico-científico, mas elaborando retratos metafóricos e líricos, demonstrando que a perceção que tinha sobre os doentes ultrapassava a de objetos de estudo científico, constituindo um processo de identificação, empatia e compaixão. Cebola definia os estados psicopatológicos por oposição à normalidade, salientando, todavia, que estas doenças poderiam surgir em qualquer indivíduo, funcionando o livro simultaneamente como um aviso aos leitores. O volume permitia-lhe ainda divulgar o Museu da Loucura, que criara na Casa de Saúde do Telhal, e a arte dos seus pacientes, colocando-se assim na posição de mensageiro entre o universo fechado do hospital psiquiátrico e a sociedade portuguesa.

Abstract Lúis Cebola's 1925 work Almas delirantes [Delusional Souls] presented various psychopathologies through metaphorical and lyrical portraits rather than from a medical/ scientific point of view, showing that he perceived his patients as more than objects of scientific study in a process of identification, empathy, and compassion. Cebola defined psychopathological states according to contrast with normality, but stressed that these diseases could arise in any individual, and the book simultaneously acted as a warning to readers. The text also publicized the Museum of Madness [Museu da Loucura], which he created at the Casa de Saúde do Telhal, and the art produced by his patients, positioning himself as a messenger between the closed universe of the psychiatric hospital and Portuguese society.

Curar y custodiar. La cronicidad en el manicomio La Castañeda, Ciudad de México, 1910-1968 / Cure ande guard. Chronicity in insane Asylum La Castañeda, Mexico city, 1910-1968

El artículo cuestiona el binomio que asocia la cronicidad y la incurabilidad de las enfermedades mentales con el custodialismo del manicomio mediante un estudio de caso, el Manicomio La Castañeda de México, 1910-1968. Se contrastan los discursos sobre la cura y la cronicidad que elaboraron los psiquiatras mexicanos y las tendencias estadísticas de los pacientes ingresados: nuevas admisiones, reingresos, altas, duración de la estancia y diagnósticos a la luz de los nuevos tratamientos. Concluye que para los médicos, la función terapéutica del manicomio se vio muy golpeada por la cronicidad y la sobrepoblación, pero según las estadísticas, el 80% de los pacientes sólo tuvo un ingreso con una internación de 15 meses y las largas estancias de los que reingresaron no impactaron estadísticamente; las dos terceras partes de los enfermos salieron del manicomio, y desde los años cincuenta en el contexto de las nuevas terapéuticas (AU)

The article questions the binomial that associates the chronicity and incurability of mental illness with the custodialism of the asylum through a case study, Asylum La Castañeda in Mexico, from 1910 to 1968. We contrast the discourses about the cure and chronicity constructed by Mexican psychiatrists and the statistical trends of patients admitted: new admissions, readmissions, discharges, length of stay, and diagnoses in the light of new treatments. We concluded that according to the doctors, the asylum therapeutic function was severely affected by chronicity and overpopulation, but according to statistics, 80% of the patients had only one admission with a 15-month hospitalization and the long-term confinement rates of readmissions did not impact statistically; two-thirds of the patients left the asylum, and since the 1950s in the context of new therapeutics (AU)

'The Head Carver': Art Extraordinary and the small spaces of asylum.

This paper uses the unique collection of Scottish outsider art, labelled Art Extraordinary, as a window into the often neglected small spaces of asylum care in the early twentieth century. By drawing upon materials from the Art Extraordinary collection and its associated archives, this paper demonstrates the importance of incorporating small and everyday spaces of care - such as gardens, paths, studios and boats - into the broader historical narratives of psychiatric care in Scotland. Examples of experiential memorialization and counterpoints to asylum surveillance culture will be illuminated. The significance of using 'outsider' art collections as a valuable source in tracing geographical histories will be highlighted.

Pharmacology and psychiatry at the origins of Greek medicine: The myth of Melampus and the madness of the Proetides.

Melampus is a seer-healer of Greek myth attributed with having healed the young princesses of Argos of madness. Analysis of this legend and its sources sheds light on the early stages of the "medicalizing" shift in the history of ancient Greek medicine. Retrospective psychological diagnosis suggests that the descriptions of the youths' madness rose from actual observation of behavioral and mental disorders. Melampus is credited with having healed them by administering hellebore. Pharmacological analysis of botanical specimens proves that Helleborus niger features actual neurological properties effective in the treatment of mental disorders. The discussion aims at examining the rational aspects of the treatment of mental conditions in Greco-Roman antiquity.

Is there a relationship between sinusitis and psychological disorders?

Chronic rhinosinusitis refers to inflammation of the nasal and sinuses mucosa and the main criteria for diagnosis of this disease related to the nasal cavity or the facial area. According to several reports based on the relationship of this disease with mental disorders, psychological issues are missing in the criteria of chronic rhinosinusitis diagnosis. In this study the etiology and clinical symptoms of the disease were studied by searching scientific databases and authentic Iranian Medicine books such as Avicenna's book The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanun fi't-Tibb) that now taught in medicine schools of the Traditional East Asian; the results of this study showed that rhinosinusitis accompaniment with psychological symptoms are listed in abundance not only in old books but also in scientific literature before 1928 but after the discovery of antibiotics and extreme attention in the context of physiopathological assignment of diseases to pathogens, this relationship has been weakened. Given the positive results of recent studies on rhinosinusitis accompaniment with psychological disorders it is suggested that more studies are needed to explore the relationship between chronic rhinosinusitis and psychological diseases and, if necessary, to be included in the diagnostic criteria as a diagnostic standard.

A review of the new provisions for sanctioning mentally disordered offenders in China, in a broader historical context.

Reforms of the criminal justice system in China in recent years have included the 2012 Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), which resulted in new disposals for mentally disordered offenders. From a Western perspective, changes in Chinese criminal law are sometimes clichéd as toothless window dressing, but they may represent a genuine step forward in safeguarding human rights. Taking a historical perspective, this paper reveals that in the East, as much as in the West, there is a 'moral tradition' of not punishing mentally disordered offenders who are not considered responsible for their acts. There are clear differences in disposal for those acquitted having been found 'not guilty by reason of insanity'. Whereas Western jurisdictions have offered (criminal) courts the opportunity for commitment in (forensic) mental hospitals from the early 19th Century, in China, disposal has remained, until the recent changes, the responsibility of the administration (mainly the police) or the family of the offender. A few high profile cases brought to light the inadequacy of these arrangements and the general disregard of obvious mental health issues when sentencing offenders. There was lack of clarity regarding who would take responsibility for treatment and issues of future public protection arising from a mental disorder. The 2012 CCP introduces the power of mental health commitment by the judiciary for those found non-responsible for an offense because of a mental disorder. Similar to provisions in Western jurisdictions there remain human rights concerns regarding aspects of 2012 CCP and the role of 'preventive detention' for mentally disordered offenders on indeterminate secure mental health detention. Nevertheless, the shift to judicial decision making in such cases and the possibility of mental health commitment are welcome steps in improving the human rights of this vulnerable population.

Psychiatric care at a national mental institution during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39): Santa Isabel de Leganés.

The scanty research available regarding the health of the mentally ill during the Spanish Civil War is largely due to the loss of most documents, and to the difficulty in accessing the existing archives for decades. Up to the present time, historiography has described overcrowded facilities for the mentally disturbed and the fact that old buildings such as convents and spas were turned into establishments for treating patients with mental problems during the Civil War. However, research reviewing the institutional life and conditions of psychiatric patients during this war is still rather scarce.The aim of our article is to discuss the characteristics of the patients at Santa Isabel National Mental Asylum between 1936 and 1939, as well as the functioning of this institution located in Leganés, a city to the south of Madrid (Spain). The method for this study includes a review of the medical records, statistical registers and other documents kept in the institution's Historical Archive. In addition, using documents from other Spanish archives, as well as information obtained from contemporary and secondary sources, we attempt to describe similarities to and differences from other mental institutions.

Contested Boundaries: psychiatry, disease, and diagnosis.

Since the 19th century, we have come to think of disease in terms of specific entities--entities defined and legitimated in terms of characteristic somatic mechanisms. Since the last third of that century, we have expanded would-be disease categories to include an ever-broader variety of emotional pain, idiosyncrasy, and culturally unsettling behaviors. Psychiatry has been the residuary legatee of these developments, developments that have always been contested at the ever-shifting boundary between disease and deviance, feeling and symptom, the random and the determined, the stigmatized and the value-free. Even in our era of reductionist hopes, psychopharmaceutical practice, and corporate strategies, the legitimacy of many putative disease categories will remain contested. The use of the specific disease entity model will always be a reductionist means to achieve necessarily holistic ends, both in terms of cultural norms and the needs of suffering individuals. Bureaucratic rigidities and stakeholder conflicts structure and intensify such boundary conflicts, as do the interests and activism of an interested lay public.