http://weirdnj.com/stories/pennhurst-asylum/
I found this article interesting. It talked about Pennhurst Asylum, a Pennsylvania insane asylum that opened in 1908. The article describes the horrors that went on at Pennhurst. By the mid-60s, it housed 2,971 people, most of them children. The buildings could only comfortably accomodate 900. Although many of the patients were high-functioning, only 200 were in any kind of art, education, or recreation programs. Instead of rotting away in the asylum, the residents could have been treated.
Pennhurst is different from McLean Hospital in Girl, Interrupted because it is a state institution. Mclean, however,a is an expensive private facicility. Because of this, the conditions were much better than the state hospitals. Despite the differences between the two, the systems have some similarities. Like many of the patients at Pennhurst, Susanna and some of the other patients at McLean could have been treated instead of being institutionalized. Based on Susanna's behavior in the book, I think she would benefit more if she was a part of society. She could have easily been treated with medicine and therapy outside of the mental hospital.
I always felt that her admission into the institute was unnecessary. I even felt like almost all of the girls would benefit from more integration into society.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I felt so bad that the girls were wasting such an exciting time in their lives in a hospital. They didn't have histories of violence, so I think they would be fine on their own. As I read the book, I imagined what it would be like to be in Susanna's shoes and I felt angry. I would feel so trapped in their! Luckily the mental health care has improved since this book was written.
Delete