Yasmin Karce
English 226
Professor Coronado
Archive Assignment
09 December 2014
Mental
Health Institution
In the article “Journal of Wisconsin
State Lunatic Asylum and Hospital for the Insane,” several authors of the
Mendota Mental Health Institute of Wisconsin and Office of the Secretary of
State explain many aspects within the asylum. The exact authors for this
article are unknown, but the location of the text takes place in Madison,
Wisconsin. The information provided within the Insane Asylum pamphlet discusses
the specifications of the hospital and how they will satisfy the state’s
requirements, including the production of adding four stories to the building. Subjects
such as cost of building material, comfort level of the patient, and dynamic of
the building’s layout are focal points of the state’s concerns for developing
the Insane Asylum. Other specifications include: excavations, stone masonry,
brick work, plastering, timber, floors, windows, doors, washboards, stairs, and
many more. The overall product is said to be completed by the first of
September of 1859 (Journal of Wisconsin State Lunatic Asylum and Hospital for
the Insane 4-13). This leaves room for four to five years of planning. This
documentation is important because funding for mental health institutions have
been scarce, and are even more so now since the rate of diagnosis for mental
illness is rapidly increasing. While funding for new, and current, mental
health institutions is important, this article shows little detail on the care
for its patients and focuses more on the structural appeal of the
establishment; not only was funding lacked back in 1854, it still is today. In
order for mental health institutions to be considered a viable option for
treatment, one must first obtain the necessary information to understand
institutionalization as a potential option for rehabilitating those who have been
diagnosed with a mental illness. The purpose of reading this text is to educate
individuals on the importance of Mental Health Institutions, and to show that
most healthcare officials waste money on useless technology that does not
benefit the patients. The vast majority should read this text because it is a
good source that shows how the mental systems truly work; it is not always
about the care of the patients, but rather how much money the workers can make,
and so on.
The amount of effort put in to building
a mental health institution greatly effects whether or not the institution can
be readily established for its incoming patients and be seen as a working
center for recovery. A significant dose of passion must be incorporated in the
production of a place of comfort for the mentally inclined. For instance,
officials conducting the framework of the asylum stated that all materials used
throughout the building shall be of the best quality of their several kinds.
All stock shall be in the best condition for use, at the time of being put in;
all labor shall be performed by the workmen to the best of their art and
ability, in a thorough, faithful, and workmanlike manner (Journal of Wisconsin
State Lunatic). The description of how each section of the building is going to
be built is very particular and explained with great detail; this shows the
level of dedication the state officials have for accomplishing the task at hand.
If individuals are aware of the financial distraught that takes place when
establishing a mental asylum, they will be able to better understand the
importance behind its need to exist for the public.
Mental
health has been a stable concern for many years. The act of fundraising for
mental health research has become a difficult process due to the lack of
knowledge on the subject; many people need help overcoming their mental
illness, but money is given elsewhere. According
to the International Journal of Mental Health Systems, the global situation for
people with mental illness – in developing and developed countries – is dire.
Legislative and human rights protections are frequently lacking, and mental
health budgets are inadequate (Minas). The entire process of creating a mental
health asylum is more difficult than one might think because without the funds,
many individuals are not receiving the help they need, and if they are, it is
not the best care for their mental illness. Thus why there is an urgent need to
focus on the development of effective, appropriate, affordable mental health
services (Minas). I think the majority of mental health facilities focus too
much on the “looks” of the center rather than the level of treatment they give
their patients. For instance, stated in the specifications booklet from the
Wisconsin State Lunatic Asylum, the footing for the foundation walls of the
building are to be of concrete, made of rock, broken fine, and thoroughly
grouted with the best water lime and sand (Journal of Wisconsin State Lunatic
5). If I were a patient in this asylum, I would not care to worry if the
building I was receiving treatment from looked fancy; the majority of people
are there to get better. The condition of the building does not aid, or deter,
the patient’s progress. I know this because I was thrown into a mental hospital
where the room was small, cold, and lonely. The thing I had to look at was a
white wall of concrete. Would I have been able to deal with my depression
quicker if the room was colored coated? I think not. It is the level of care
provided that allows the patient to be successful during their recovery
process. Mental health institutions continue to poorly execute that funding
should be the first step to receiving proper mental health care because without
a significant amount of money and knowledge, there will be less growth for
research and improvement. Society needs to begin making up for patient’s lost
time, due to their mental illness.
According
to the article mental health: a world of
depression, approximately 350 million people suffer from some form of
mental illness that usually lasts most of their lifetime (Smith). The
prevalence of mental disorders has increased since 1854, but most of the
regulations regarding mental health institutions have remained the same due to
the fact that little progress has been made in the areas of funding and
research. By providing easily accessible information to the general public, achieving
the goal of facilitating the growth of institutions may become more realistic. Also,
by introducing the text provided by the Wisconsin State Lunatic Asylum it
allows people to see the extensive amount of work that must be put in to
conducting an institution for mental health, but during this time frame, state
officials were more concerned with producing a very pristine asylum versus
applying funds toward better answers as to why mental health is and has become
such a detrimental aspect of society. As it is explained, members of the
Mendota Mental Health Institute of Wisconsin and Office of the Secretary of
State decided that having mineral plated knobs on the doors of the asylum –
that would also have separate keys for locking and unlocking female and male
wards – would be an important attribute to their newly developed institution
(Wisconsin State Lunatic Asylum 17). All of these intricate details seem pointless
when it comes to the explanation of mental health, but these are the ideas that
Madison state officials focused on, at the time of development.
The
subject of mental health is heavily based on stereotypical opinions that
derives from the lack of understanding its true content. The Wisconsin State
Lunatic Asylum and Hospital for the Insane deters the ability to allow its
readers to comprehend the logical matter of what mental health and illness
consist of, therefore causing individuals to not become advocates for bettering
the field of mental health. I have argued for this article to be viewed by all
in order for one to see where state funding for issues concerning mental health
has been directed towards; this article concludes that knowledge about mental
health and illness was just as ignorant as it is today. The care that the
patients receive should not derive from the beautiful landscape they are able
to see from their hospital window, but rather from the passion and commitment
allotted by their care-providers. This text needs to be read in hopes that
individuals will see that Mental Health Institutions today do not give their
patients the best care. They spend more time on buying new equipment for the
building rather than making sure their patients have everything they need to
make their journey of wellness a good one.
Works
Cited
Journal of
Wisconsin State Lunatic Asylum and Hospital for the Insane.
Minas, Harry,
and Alex Cohen. "Why Focus on Mental Health Systems?" International
Journal of Mental Health Systems 1.1 (2007): 1. Web.
Smith, Kerri.
"Mental Health: A World of Depression." Nature 515.7526
(2014): n. pag. Web.
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