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![]() Today, being transgender is no longer considered grounds for commitment to a mental institution. Though he had been assigned female at birth and raised as a woman, he felt that he was truly a man. Perhaps one of the facility’s most famous patients was Joseph Lobdell, who was committed for “a rare form of mental disease,” as his doctor put it, according to The Washington Post. ![]() Many never did. At a time when understanding of mental health was very crude, not everyone who was locked inside the asylum was truly insane. Patients were kept until the administrators decided they could leave. Though Willard Asylum was much more progressive than many other mental health facilities at the time, in practice, it was still essentially a prison. The Treatment Of Patients At Willard Asylum But the facility was still a product of the times, and today, many of the asylum’s practices would be considered horrifying. Willard was trying something different - and it worked. Almost immediately, both her physical and mental health began to improve. They treated her like a human being instead of an animal. Once Rote arrived at Willard, though, the staff made sure that she was dressed and groomed every day. Robert Doran’s History of Willard Asylum for the Insane and the Willard State Hospital, rather than locking residents away, the goal of the doctors and nurses at Willard was to treat patients and teach them the skills they needed to rejoin society if and when they were able to.įreaktography/Flickr One of the ruined hallways inside the asylum. In 1869, however, Willard Asylum was opened as a revolutionary treatment facility.Īccording to Dr. If their family couldn’t or simply didn’t want to care for them, they were often forced into almshouses or prisons. In the 19th century, people suffering from mental illness had few options. The Early Years Of Willard Asylum For The Chronic Insane Inside the bags were mementos of those who had lived and died within the facility’s walls - a visual history of the asylum’s past. While exploring the buildings to see what could be salvaged, however, a staff member came across a forgotten attic full of suitcases that had once belonged to patients. The institution treated patients for more than 100 years, but by 1995, Willard Asylum had closed its doors and was mostly abandoned. Their health quickly improved when they were able to explore the expansive grounds and interact with other residents. The facility was built as an alternative to the prisons and poorhouses that typically housed patients suffering from mental illness at the time, where residents were often chained to their beds or locked in cages.ĭoctors at the asylum almost immediately saw shocking changes in patients who arrived from other facilities. In 1869, Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane opened near Seneca Lake in New York. New York Library/Wikimedia Commons An early photo of Willard Asylum in the 19th century.
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