Even today, three-quarters of a century after they were shot, Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photographs from the grounds of Pilgrim State Hospital on Long Island are remarkable for the way they blend clear-eyed reporting with a genuine sense of compassion. But what is perhaps most unsettling about the images is how terribly familiar they look.
The treatment of mental illness — in all its confounding varieties and degrees — has come a long, long way since the 1930s, and in most countries is now immeasurably more humane, comprehensive and discerning than the brutal approaches of even a century ago. Advancements in psychiatric medications alone have helped countless people lead fuller lives than they might have without drugs. And yet … the grim, desolate tone of the pictures in this gallery will feel eerily contemporary to anyone familiar with psych wards in large hospitals today.
Read more: http://life.time.com/culture/strangers-to-reason-life-inside-a-psychiatric-hospital-1938/#ixzz28vRuwJJq
What is your reaction to these photos? Have you been encouraged at all by recent changes to our mental health system? What about the stigma of mental illness -- are we doing any better?
2 comments:
The effectiveness of treatment for mental health issues was never something I really paid a great deal of attention to - until I had a family member who suffered from such an illness.
While I think we have made great strides in how people with such issues are treated in the psychiatry world, I still think there is an unfortunate stigma attached to sufferers.
As a police officer having dealt with many people who suffered from mental illness, it strikes me that anyone could be affected at anytime. I have had family members tell me about their loved one being "normal", then things turned for the worse.
I concur with Roger's comments. As a society we have come a long way to address the stigma issue (local example: the Gathering Place) but there is so much more to do.
The weak link is research - finding appropriate psychiatric and pharmaceutical treatments for mental illnesses.
I find the photos very unsettling and a reminder of what I have observed with a family member.
I am annoyed by the full page ads (day after day after day) that CAMH places in the Globe & Mail and on tv, drawing mental illness to our attention and encouraging people to seek help. That is all well and good BUT: let's find a balance - if only CAMH would direct some of those advertising dollars to providing proper care (in patient and out patient) when the suffering persons present at their ER.
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