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Lesson 1: Abnormal Behavior

A Brief History of Mental Illness

Considerations of abnormal behavior and mental illness are rooted in the system of beliefs that operate in a given society at a given time (Sue et al., 2016). Thus, we must consider historical context in our discussion of abnormality. One could easily teach an entire course on the history of mental illness (and the author of this course has), but for the sake of time we will focus on a few things: demonological explanations of mental illness in the middle ages, the rise of naturalism and moral treatment, and the mental asylum movement.

Demonology = The belief that mental illness was the result of supernatural forces, such as being possessed by a demon.

The Western World reverted to demonology as the dominant explanation for mental illness following the collapse of the Roman Empire.

In order to counteract threats to the church’s power, Pope Innocent VIII called for the identification and extermination of witches in 1486; this led to the publication of The Malleus Maleficarum (“Witch’s Hammer”) two years later. Clergy wrote this tome to suppress revolutionary individuals and groups who the church saw as a threat, including the mentally ill in many cases. The “treatment” for mental illness was usually death or torture.

Historians estimate that at least 100,000 people were executed as witches from the late 1400s through the late 1600s, and approximately 85% of them were women (Viney & King, 2003).

Johann Weyer (1515-1588) was an important figure who challenged the prevailing beliefs about witchcraft, and he argued that many individuals who were persecuted as witches were actually mentally ill. This was an early, naturalistic explanation of mental illness.

Naturalism = The doctrine that scientific procedures and laws are applicable to all phenomena; there are natural, scientific explanations for all events in the world, including mental illness (Viney & King, 2003).

Copernicus showing that the earth revolves around the sun is an example of Naturalism. Naturalism met a great deal of resistance early on (such as Copernicus being jailed for his findings), and naturalistic explanations of mental illness met even more resistance.

Phillipe Pinel worked within the naturalistic framework and instituted the moral treatment movement around the year 1800 in France. Pinel freed the mentally ill from chains and dungeons and promoted healthy behaviors. He noted how the patients responded positively to such humane treatment, which seems obvious today but was revolutionary then. Moral therapy involved the following practices (Viney & King, 2003):

  • Individualized care
  • Occupational therapy
  • Exercise
  • Recreation
  • Religious lessons
  • Arts & crafts
Note: However, moral therapy did not involve talk psychotherapy.

Be sure to pay attention in the textbook to the contributions of William Tuke, Benjamin Rush, Dorothea Dix, and Clifford Beers. 


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