Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Mental Illness: A History With Respect To The Care And Treatment Of The Mentally Ill Law And Public Policy And The Stigma Attached To The Affliction, Raisa Anwer

Honors Theses

This thesis contains the exploration of mental illness starting with how mental illness is defined today. The history of mental illness in America reveals a gross neglect of those afflicted with “madness,” as it was usually referred to. This thesis will focus on the treatment of the mentally ill from the 1900s to present day. There is an inherent stigma attached to mental illness and as modern and as civilized as the United States claims to be, it should be noted that mental illness is still as much taboo even today, rife with stories of the mentally ill being constantly …