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Lädt ... Asylum for the Insane: A History of the Kalamazoo State Hospitalvon William A. Decker
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When the Kalamazoo State Hospital was founded in 1854, it was the first public facility for mentally ill built in Michigan and thus named the Michigan Asylum for the Insane. It was an era where there were no psychiatrists, even in the largest cities. Psychiatry grew from the exchange of information between the medical staff of these new public institutions. Author, William A. Decker, M.D. gives readers a comprehensive view of Michigan's first psychiatric facility including the architectural style and plans, building descriptions and history, Legislative Acts regarding the operation and governance, personnel information including Medical Directors, historical perspective on the causes of insanity, their treatment and services, noteworthy events and a complete bibliography and appendix Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)362.2Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Social problems of & services to groups of people Mentally illKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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There are also sections directly discussing treatment, and changing treatment practice. Much of this is surprisingly interesting. And there's a great chapter on the hospital's program to treat children and adolescents; part of the interest is the author's direct involvement in the development of the program.
What the book lacks is an explicit argument that the asylum's activities were worthwhile; Decker just assumes we agree that to be true, though he occasionally hints at the debating points which might be made to support the opinion (or to demonstrate its truth). There are occasional, slight, mentions of the hospital's negative image in the Kalamazoo community; since the author clearly thought that a problem, and seems to take some of the responsibility, it would be nice to have seen a chapter discussing those issues. It would be similarly useful to have a more explicit discussion of the state's political leadership's changing view of the state's mental hospital system.
Decker's not a great prose stylist, and there's a awful lot of unnecessary redundancy. I see no evidence of an editor; one could have helped. The last chapter, which argues that we've gone too far with our deinstitutionalization programs, badly needed a rewrite.
There are several appendices, all useful; I particularly liked the series of maps demonstrating the evolving layout of the hospital grounds.
All that said: Worth reading if you're interested in either the Kalamazoo asylum or the history of mental health treatment in America. There's lots of interesting material here, despite some issues in its presentation. I'm planning to read Decker's book about the Traverse City asylum, where he never worked; I expect to learn interesting things.
This review has also been published on a dabbler's journal. ( )