A psychiatric hospital, sometimes known as an asylum, is a hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental illness, usually for relatively long-term inpatients.
Psychiatric institutions vary widely in their goals and methods. Some hospitals may specialize only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients. Others may specialize in the temporary or permanent care of residents who as a result of a psychological disorder, requir...
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A psychiatric hospital, sometimes known as an asylum, is a hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental illness, usually for relatively long-term inpatients.
Psychiatric institutions vary widely in their goals and methods. Some hospitals may specialize only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients. Others may specialize in the temporary or permanent care of residents who as a result of a psychological disorder, require routine assistance, treatment or a specialized and controlled environment. Patients are often admitted on a voluntary basis, but involuntary commitment is practiced when an individual may pose a significant danger to themselves or others.
Court Judges pressured the UK Government, resulting in an Act of Parliament - The Madhouse Act 1828, allowing the building of purpose-built asylums, the first of which the 1st Middlesex County Asylum was at Hanwell in West London and opened its doors in late 1831. (Src. Museums of Madness, Andrew T. Scull,...
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