Can the architecture and layout of a building really "cure" mental illnesses? Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride thought so. Before 1844 the mentally ill were confined in jails, prisons, private homes, and the basements of public buildings. There were many reasons why people were diagnosed with mental illness, but many of which were not reality as we know it today. People were diagnosed with mental illness due to disagreements, lack of knowledge of a language and the strangest thing I found was that women were considered crazy because of menstruation and teenagers because of masturbation. The “insane” were treated without rights, starved, lost and forgotten while being hidden from society. Dorothea Dix, who initially started out as a teacher, saw these conditions in East Cambridge Prison. These were the most horrific images she had ever seen in her life, and this led her to try to establish human rights according to the philosophy of moral treatment. He wanted to have rights for “crazy people”. His efforts led to the construction of the New Jersey State Asylum. This was the first asylum built under the Kirkbride Plan. Moral treatment was based on humane psychosocial assistance or moral discipline. It emerged as an approach in the 18th century and was mainly used during the 19th century. Moral treatment focused on social welfare and individual rights. This changed the idea that madmen were “wild animals” who could not control themselves. The insane before this were despised by the public, often chained and neglected for years in absolutely appalling conditions. They had been subjected to torturous treatment that included whippings, beatings, bloodshed, shocking, starvation and solitary confinement. Moral treatment fell to us... middle of paper... instructions. I love the architecture of these buildings and wish we had more resources so we could preserve this piece of American history. References: Carla Yanni, The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States, Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press, 2007 George S. Layne, Kirkbride-Langenheim Collaboration: Early Use of Photography in Psychiatric Treatment in Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 105, no. 2 (Arr., 1981), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2091563http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Danvers_State_Hospitalhttp://www.danversstateinsaneasylum.com/home.htmlhttp://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/ http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/http://www.forgottenphotography.com/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Kirkbride.html