Posts

What was the Mental Health Act 1959?

Published on by Andrew Marshall5 Comments

Introduction

The Mental Health Act 1959 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales which had, as its main objectives, to abolish the distinction between psychiatric hospitals and other types of hospitals and to deinstituitionalise mental health patients and see them treated more by community care.

An Act to Repeal the Lunacy and mental Treatment Acts 1890 to 1930, and the Mental Deficiency Acts 1913 to 1938, and to make fresh provisions with respect to the treatment and care of mentally disordered persons and with respect to their property and affairs, and for purposes connected with matters aforesaid.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

The Act also defined the term mental disorder for the first time: “mental illness as distinct from learning disability. The definition was “mental illness; arrest or incomplete development of mind; psychopathic disorder; and any other disorder or disability of mind”.

At the time, 0.4% of the population of England were housed in asylums, receiving the standard treatments of the time. Their treatment was considered by the 1957 Percy Commission (A central purpose of the Percy Commission was to assess the extent to which people with mental disorders could be treated as voluntary patients.) and the act resulted from its deliberations. The act was designed to make:

  • Treatment voluntary and informal; and
  • Where compulsory give it a proper legal framework and made as a medical decision; and
  • To move treatment, where possible, away from institutional care to that in the community.

The Act repealed the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts 1890 to 1930 and the Mental Deficiency Acts 1913 to 1938.

One of the changes introduced by the Act was the abolishment of the category of “moral imbecile”. The category, which had been introduced in 1913, had been defined in so vague terms that it had allowed also mothers of illegitimate children, especially in case of repeated births out of wedlock, to be regarded as “moral imbeciles” and thus to be placed in an institution for defectives or to be placed under guardianship.

Refer to Mental Health Act 1983, the Royal Commission on the Law Relating to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency (scans of original document can be found here).

What was the Medical Treatment Act 1930?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Introduction

The Mental Treatment Act 1930 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted voluntary admission to, and outpatient treatment within, psychiatric hospitals.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

It also replaced the term “asylum” with “mental hospital”.

It was repealed by the Mental Health Act 1959.

What was the Idiots Act 1886?

Published on by Andrew Marshall2 Comments

Introduction

The Idiots Act 1886 (49 Vict.c.25) was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was intended to give “… facilities for the care, education, and training of Idiots and Imbeciles”.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

The Act made, for the first time, the distinction between “lunatics”, “idiots”, and “imbeciles” for the purpose of making entry into education establishments easier and for defining the ways they were cared for.

Before the Act, learning institutions for idiots and imbeciles were seen as either “licensed houses” or “registered hospitals” for lunatics, for which the parents of children hoping to enter would have to complete a form stating that they were “a lunatic, an idiot, or a person of unsound mind”. Additionally, they were required to answer irrelevant questions and present two medical certificates.

The Act was repealed by the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, by which time two further classifications had been introduced: “feeble-minded people” and “moral defectives”.

What was the Mental Deficiency Act 1913?

Published on by Andrew Marshall3 Comments

Introduction

The Mental Deficiency Act 1913 was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which made provisions for the institutional treatment of people deemed to be “feeble-minded” and “moral defectives”.

“It proposed an institutional separation so that mental defectives should be taken out of Poor Law institutions and prisons into newly established colonies.”

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

The Idiots Act 1886 made the legal distinction between “idiots” and “imbeciles”. It contained educational provisions for the needs of people deemed to be in these categories. In 1904 the Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded was set up with the warrant “to consider the existing methods of dealing with idiots and epileptics, and with imbecile, feeble-minded, or defective persons not certified under the Lunacy Laws… to report as to the amendments in the law or other measures which should be adopted in the matter”. The Commission returned a lengthy report in 1908 which estimated that of a population of 32,527,843 British inhabitants 149,628 people (0.46%) were considered “mentally defective”. It recommended the establishment of a board of control which would oversee local authority efforts aimed at “the well-being of the mentally defective”.

Winston Churchill spoke of the need to introduce compulsory labour camps for “mental defectives” in the House of Commons in February 1911. In May 1912 a Private Members’ Bill entitled the “Feeble-Minded Control Bill” was introduced in the House of Commons, which called for the implementation of the Royal Commission’s conclusions. It rejected sterilisation of the “feeble-minded”, but had provision for registration and segregation. One of the few voices raised against the bill was that of G.K. Chesterton who ridiculed the bill, calling it the “Feeble-Minded Bill, both for brevity and because the description is strictly accurate”. The bill was withdrawn, but a government bill introduced on 10 June 1912 replaced it, which would become the Mental Deficiency Act 1913.

Mental Deficiency Act

The bill was passed in 1913 with only three MPs voting against it. One of them was Josiah Wedgwood, who attempted to filibuster and said of it, “It is a spirit of the Horrible Eugenic Society which is setting out to breed up the working class as though they were cattle.” The new act repealed the Idiots Act 1886 and followed the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded. It established the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency to oversee the implementation of provisions for the care and management of four classes of people,

a) Idiots. Those so deeply defective as to be unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers.
b) Imbeciles. Whose defectiveness does not amount to idiocy, but is so pronounced that they are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs, or, in the case of children, of being taught to do so.
c) Feeble-minded persons. Whose weakness does not amount to imbecility, yet who require care, supervision, or control, for their protection or for the protection of others, or, in the case of children, are incapable of receiving benefit from the instruction in ordinary schools.
d) Moral Imbeciles. Displaying mental weakness coupled with strong vicious or criminal propensities, and on whom punishment has little or no deterrent effect.

A person deemed to be an idiot or imbecile might be placed in an institution or under guardianship if the parent or guardian so petitioned, as could a person of any of the four categories under 21 years, as could a person of any category who had been abandoned, neglected, guilty of a crime, in a state institution, habitually drunk, or unable to be schooled.

At the height of operation of the Mental Deficiency Act, 65,000 people were placed in “colonies” or in other institutional settings.

The act remained in effect until it was repealed by the Mental Health Act 1959.

What was the Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Introduction

The Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1857 formed mental health law in Scotland from 1857 until 1913.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

Prior to the Lunacy (Scotland) Act, lunacy legislation in Scotland was enshrined in the Madhouses (Scotland) Act 1815 which established the right of Scottish Sheriffs to order the inspection of madhouses. However the Scottish Lunacy Commission inquiry which reported in 1857 found that the official oversight of mental health institutions “remained at best variable and at worst simply inadequate”. It recommended the formation of a “Scottish Lunacy Board” who would address the shortfall in oversight.

Provisions

The legislation created a General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland.

It also created district boards with the power to establish and operate publicly funded “district asylums” for patients who could not afford the fees charged by existing private and charitable “Royal Asylums”. These existing “Royal Asylums” (with Royal Charters) included the Aberdeen Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Crichton Royal Institution, the Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Royal Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum, the Glasgow Royal Lunatic Asylum, the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum and James Murray’s Royal Lunatic Asylum.

The aim of the legislation was to establish a network of “district asylums” with coverage throughout Scotland.

Subsequent Legislation

Under the Mental Deficiency and Lunacy (Scotland) Act 1913, the General Board of Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland was reconstructed and designated the General Board of Control for Scotland.

Refer to Mental Deficiency Act 1913.

What was the Criminal Lunatics (Ireland) Act 1838?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Introduction

The Criminal Lunatics (Ireland) Act 1838 (1 & 2 Vict. c. 27) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, signed into law on 11 June 1838.

It was one of the Lunacy (Ireland) Acts 1821 to 1890.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation and Criminal Lunatics Act 1800.

Provisions

The Act provided that when a person was detained under circumstances suggesting that they were of deranged mind and had the intention of committing a crime, then two justices were empowered to call in a physician to examine the suspect. If the physician determined that the person was a “dangerous lunatic” he could be committed to gaol, until either discharged by order of two justices or removed to a lunatic asylum by order of the Lord Lieutenant.

Role of Lord Lieutenant

The Lord Lieutenant was given the power to direct persons under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation be placed in a lunatic asylum, to remain there until certified of sound mind by two physicians, when the Lord Lieutenant could direct their removal. Additionally, they were given a similar power in regard to persons committed for trial.

What was the Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Introduction

The Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821 formed the basis of mental health law in Ireland from 1821 until 2015.

Refer to Chronology of UK Mental Health Legislation.

Background

Prior to the Lunacy (Ireland) Act, there had been only limited progress with establishing specialist accommodation for the mentally ill in Ireland. The only such facilities were the Eglinton Asylum in Cork and the Richmond Asylum in Dublin.

Provisions

The legislation authorised the appointment of a Commission of General Control and Correspondence to have oversight of asylums in Ireland. It also gave powers to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to establish and operate publicly funded “district asylums” across the island of Ireland.

Subsequent Legislation

Although the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 made some changes relating to Commissioners in Lunacy, the management of the Estates of Lunatics and for the protection of the property of Lunatics in Ireland, aspects of the legislation remained in force until repealed by the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015.

Mental Health Awareness Week (UK)

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place on 10-16 May 2021 and this year’s theme is nature.

What is Mental Health Awareness Week and why does it matter?

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event when there is an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.

The Mental Health Foundation started the event 21 years ago, and each year the Foundation continues to set the theme, organise and host the Week. The event has grown to become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally.

Mental Health Awareness Week is open to everyone. It is all about starting conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it. This year we want as many people as possible - individuals, communities and governments - to think about connecting with nature and how nature can improve our mental health.

However, the Week is also a chance to talk about any aspect of mental health that people want to – regardless of the theme.

Read more here.

On This Day … 13 May

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

People (Births)

  • 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964).

People (Deaths)

  • 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927).

Nandor Fodor

Nandor Fodor (13 May 1895 to 17 May 1964 in New York City, New York) was a British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist of Hungarian origin.

Fodor was born in Beregszász, Hungary. He received a doctorate in law from the Royal Hungarian University of Science in Budapest. He moved to New York to work as a journalist and to Britain in 1929 where he worked for a newspaper company.

Fodor was one of the leading authorities on poltergeists, haunting and paranormal phenomena usually associated with mediumship. Fodor, who was at one time Sigmund Freud’s associate, wrote on subjects like prenatal development and dream interpretation, but is credited mostly for his magnum opus, Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science, first published in 1934. Fodor was the London correspondent for the American Society for Psychical Research (1935-1939). He worked as an editor for the Psychoanalytic Review and was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Fodor in the 1930s embraced paranormal phenomena but by the 1940s took a break from his previous work and advocated a psychoanalytic approach to psychic phenomena. He published sceptical newspaper articles on mediumship, which caused opposition from spiritualists.

Among the subjects he closely studied was the case of Gef the talking mongoose.

Joyce Brothers

Joyce Diane Brothers (20 October 1927 to 13 May 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. She first became famous in 1955 for winning the top prize on the American game show The $64,000 Question. Her fame from the game show allowed her to go on to host various advice columns and television shows, which established her as a pioneer in the field of “pop (popular) psychology”.

Brothers is often credited as the first to normalise psychological concepts to the American mainstream. Her syndicated columns were featured in newspapers and magazines, including a monthly column for Good Housekeeping, in which she contributed for nearly 40 years. As Brothers quickly became the “face of psychology” for American audiences, she often appeared in various television roles, usually as herself. From the 1970s onward, she also began to accept fictional roles that parodied her “woman psychologist” persona. She is noted for working continuously for five decades across various genres. Numerous groups recognised Brothers for her strong leadership as a woman in the psychological field and for helping to destigmatise the profession overall.

What is the Need for Positive Mental Health?

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

In an age where society is continually bombarded with information about mental health, individuals are learning that the benefits of positive mental health are hard to overestimate.

This is because they can help individuals in all aspects of their life to live in a way that is meaningful, and which better enables them to have a high quality of life for as long as possible.