'unfortunate Folk': Essays On Mental Health Treatment, 1863-1992

From electro-convulsive therapy to epilepsy, from criminal lunacy to community care, 'Unfortunate Folk': Essays on Mental Health Treatment, 1863-1992, opens windows on to the history of mental health treatment in New Zealand. It is one of the few books available on the history of mental health in New Zealand. Each contributor has shed light on a specific area, and in the process important information about institutions, patients and caregivers, and methods of treatment is unearthed. The siting of Seacliff Hospital at a distance from Dunedin, for example, was less about keeping patients away from the public, and more about the treatment regimes favoured at the time: fresh air, outdoor exercise and work on the farm. Some personalities, such as Truby King of Plunket fame, are seen employed in another aspect of their life's work. The first two sections of the book provide a regional focus, charting changes in treatment and care in the Otago region since the founding of the Dunedin Lunatic Asylum 1863. The authors trace the development of individual institutions over the years, and show how a national policy or the lack of it is played out locally. They discuss staffing and medical training, public and private hospitals, and the modern development of community care. Jane Adams has contributed a chapter on criminal lunacy, which is part of a longer essay that won her the prize for best essay in the Australia and New Zealand Law and History competition. She shows that the danger presented by those judged to be criminally insane was, in fact, negligible. The final section of 'Unfortunate Folk' looks at some wider New Zealand patterns, with the creation of a specialty within medicine directed specifically towards mental health treatment. One chapter uses an oral history approach to explore why psychiatry practice particularly appeals to women. This Book Consists Of Essays About The Treatment Of The Mentally Ill, Researched And Written By Postgraduate Students Of The University Of Otago's History Department. It Discusses How The 'unfortunate Folk' Deemed To Be 'foreigners' In The World Of Reason Have Been Treated In One Province Of New Zealand Since The Founding Of The Dunedin Lunatic Asylum In 1863, And Looks At Wider New Zealand Patterns, With The Creation Of A Specialty Within Medicine Directed Specifically Towards Mental Health. Founding Years In Otago Institutions (dunedin Lunatic Asylum, 1863-1876 / Jeremy Bloomfield (1979) ; Truby King And Seacliff, 1889-1907 / Cheryl Caldwell (1984) ; Taming The Brain Storms / Alexandra Reed (1993) ; 'criminal Lunacy' 1882-1912 / Jane Adams (2000) ; Ashburn Hall, 1882-1904 / Alan Somerville (1996) ; Seacliff And Ashburn Hall Compared, 1882-1911 / Caroline Hubbard (1977)) -- Into The Modern Era In Otago (ashburn Hall, 1905-1947 / Judith Clare Medlicott (1972) ; The Otekaieke Special School For Boys, 1908-1950 / Sandy Bardsley (1991) ; Psychiatry And Seacliff, 1912-1948 / Susan Fennell (1981) ; 'unfortunate Folk' : A Study Of The Social Context Of Committal To Seacliff 1928-1937 / Judith Holloway (1991) ; Cherry Farm, 1952-1992 : Social And Economic Forces In The Evolution Of Mental Health Care In Otago / Jeff Kavanagh (1996) Some New Zealand Perspectives (scientific Pastors : The Professionalisation Of Psychiatry In New Zealand 1877-1920 / Matthew Philp (1996) ; 'production Not Reproduction' : The Problem Of Mental Defect In New Zealand 1920-1935 / Stephen Robertson (1989) ; Women Psychiatrists In New Zealand, 1900-1990 : An Oral History / Paula Cody (1996) ; A Separate World? The Social Position Of The Mentally Ill, 1945-1955 / Susannah Grant (1998). By Postgraduate History Students, University Of Otago, 1972-2000 ; Edited By Barbara Brookes And Jane Thomson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [255]-296) And Index. From electro-convulsive therapy to epilepsy, from criminal lunacy to community care, Unfortunate Folks: Essays on Mental Health Treatment, 1863-1992, opens windows on to the history of mental health treatment in New Zealand. --Provided by publisher