Mental Asylums History

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The history of clinical psychology developed in colonial America when the first mental asylums opened in the mid 1700s. These asylums were the beginning of a revolutionary new medical specialty designed to treat the mentally ill. In the 18th century there was a greater need for mental asylums. American cities were evolving and growing in population which resulted in a larger population of those who were labeled as “distracted” or “lunatics.” Also, general beliefs of the origins of mental illness changed from mythical causes such as, demonic possession to a physiological and psychological basis of origin. Before mental asylums, families would care for their mentally ill family members in their homes, but as the population of these individuals…show more content…
He believed that psychologists should have greater involvement in the study of and treatment of psychological disorders. He was interested in problems of psychopathology, and in 1906 Prince founded the Journal of Abnormal Psychology which is still published today. The journal was considered to be an exclusive domain, publishing early research and case studies. The journal was an important outlet for professional psychologist such as, Joseph Jastrow, Walter Dill Scott, Robert Yerkes, and many others. Prince published his most famous book in 1905, The Dissociation of a Personality, it was one of the first and had the complete descriptions of a case of multiple personality disorder. He also played an important role in opening Harvard University’s psychology clinic. He pursued a lifelong commitment to integrating psychologists in psychopathology, choosing to fund Harvard’s psychology programs rather than the medical…show more content…
The American Association for Applied Psychology (AAAP) was an organization representing the interests of applied psychologists. After World War II, the AAAP joined forces with the APA recognizing the need for applied psychology. The reorganization of the APA in 1945 evolved by having psychologists self-identify certain aspects that best represented their interests and work. As a result branches of professional areas emerged such as, clinical psychology, industrial psychology, and school psychology. For fifteen days, seventy three academic and applied psychology, medicine, nursing, and education representatives met and discussed about the establishment of professional psychology. Everyone in attendance had a special interest, the VA and the USPHS aspired to have mental health professionals, applied psychologists wanted more recognition for their work, and academic psychologists wanted to maintain the standards of science of psychology. The Boulder meeting called for unity between the developing branches of applied psychology, especially in clinical and counseling
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