The Waiting Room / Hirschberg Gallery
Collective Memories
“A better kind of medicine for a better kind of world….” – Dr. C. F. Menninger
At the turn of the century, psychiatric hospitals were asylums, places for long-term care. The Topeka State Hospital, regarded as state-of-the-art in its day, was built in 1872 to provide “rest cure”. 70% of state hospital patients would remain hospitalized for life. Many patients had no further contact with their families. Problems ranging from patient neglect, abuse, forced sterilizations of patients, and the murder of a therapist by a patient plagued the Topeka State Hospital through its history. It lost its accreditation in 1988, and closed in 1997. The main building was demolished in 2010.
The Menninger Diagnostic Clinic opened in 1919, much to the chagrin of concerned citizens who feared a “maniac ward.” Because of the stigma of mental illness, the doctors had to bring patients in under erroneous diagnoses.
In 1925, Dr. C.F. Menninger, with sons Karl and Will, opened a 13-bed Sanitarium and Psychopathic Hospital in Topeka. They believed that mental illness could not only be treated, but cured. By 1935, Fortune magazine praised the Menninger Clinic as the “best private hospital west of the Alleghenies”. The Menningers worked collaboratively with other physicians to develop cooperative diagnosis and treatments for patients. Moods, emotions, and anxieties were treated as scientifically as temperatures and infections.
The doctors of the Menninger Clinic developed milieu therapy. All aspects of the patients’ experiences were to be therapeutic. Everyone from housekeepers to psychiatrists was involved in patient care. The Menningers hired artists to lead drawing, painting and sculpture classes. Patients worked in gardens, in the shops, and other activities that would increase their skills and confidence.
Dr. Will served in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, and helped develop mental health care for the military’s 2.5 million World War II veterans in need of mental health treatment. One hundred doctors joined the clinic to work with the Veterans Administration. Dr. Karl and Dr. Will wrote books, lectured, toured, and advocated for mental health. Dr. Will’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is still used in psychiatric training and practice. Topeka became the largest psychiatric training center in America.
"...Our conception of psychiatric hospitals here is not confinement; we think they are places in which to be treated, places in which to learn to understand one's self, to learn how to live." – Dr. Karl Menninger
In the 1940s – 1950s, the Menningers worked to reform state hospitals, including the Topeka State Hospital. After 5 years, the Menningers’ reform led to 80% of patients returning home after one year.
Dr. Will was on the cover of Time magazine in 1948, and Dr. Karl was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, the only psychiatrists to be so honored. The Menninger Clinic in Topeka closed in 2003. The Menninger Clinic and Foundation is now affiliated with Baylor University and the Methodist Hospital System in Houston, Texas, and is a world leader in psychiatric treatment, research, and education.
Info from: www.menningerclinic.com/about/Menninger-history.htm
The Waiting Room / Hirschberg Gallery
Collective Memories
“A better kind of medicine for a better kind of world….” – Dr. C. F. Menninger
At the turn of the century, psychiatric hospitals were asylums, places for long-term care. The Topeka State Hospital, regarded as state-of-the-art in its day, was built in 1872 to provide “rest cure”. 70% of state hospital patients would remain hospitalized for life. Many patients had no further contact with their families. Problems ranging from patient neglect, abuse, forced sterilizations of patients, and the murder of a therapist by a patient plagued the Topeka State Hospital through its history. It lost its accreditation in 1988, and closed in 1997. The main building was demolished in 2010.
The Menninger Diagnostic Clinic opened in 1919, much to the chagrin of concerned citizens who feared a “maniac ward.” Because of the stigma of mental illness, the doctors had to bring patients in under erroneous diagnoses.
In 1925, Dr. C.F. Menninger, with sons Karl and Will, opened a 13-bed Sanitarium and Psychopathic Hospital in Topeka. They believed that mental illness could not only be treated, but cured. By 1935, Fortune magazine praised the Menninger Clinic as the “best private hospital west of the Alleghenies”. The Menningers worked collaboratively with other physicians to develop cooperative diagnosis and treatments for patients. Moods, emotions, and anxieties were treated as scientifically as temperatures and infections.
The doctors of the Menninger Clinic developed milieu therapy. All aspects of the patients’ experiences were to be therapeutic. Everyone from housekeepers to psychiatrists was involved in patient care. The Menningers hired artists to lead drawing, painting and sculpture classes. Patients worked in gardens, in the shops, and other activities that would increase their skills and confidence.
Dr. Will served in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, and helped develop mental health care for the military’s 2.5 million World War II veterans in need of mental health treatment. One hundred doctors joined the clinic to work with the Veterans Administration. Dr. Karl and Dr. Will wrote books, lectured, toured, and advocated for mental health. Dr. Will’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is still used in psychiatric training and practice. Topeka became the largest psychiatric training center in America.
"...Our conception of psychiatric hospitals here is not confinement; we think they are places in which to be treated, places in which to learn to understand one's self, to learn how to live." – Dr. Karl Menninger
In the 1940s – 1950s, the Menningers worked to reform state hospitals, including the Topeka State Hospital. After 5 years, the Menningers’ reform led to 80% of patients returning home after one year.
Dr. Will was on the cover of Time magazine in 1948, and Dr. Karl was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, the only psychiatrists to be so honored. The Menninger Clinic in Topeka closed in 2003. The Menninger Clinic and Foundation is now affiliated with Baylor University and the Methodist Hospital System in Houston, Texas, and is a world leader in psychiatric treatment, research, and education.
Info from: www.menningerclinic.com/about/Menninger-history.htm