This document provides an overview of the history and sociology of mental illness. It discusses how views of and treatments for mental illness have varied across cultures and over time. In ancient civilizations like Egypt, India, China, and Greece, mental disorders were often attributed to supernatural or religious causes. Approaches included herbal remedies, spiritual rituals, and moral persuasion. More recently, mental illness has become destigmatized and understood in biopsychosocial terms, though some cultures still emphasize spiritual explanations and treatments. The document also examines how stigma surrounding mental illness differs cross-culturally and discusses several culture-bound disorders.

1. Sociology of Mental Illness
Dalia Al-Mansy
UMBC
PSYC 493

2. Overview
History of mental illness

 Stigma of mental illness
 Culture & mental illness

3. History – Prehistoric Times
Limited evidence prior to written

records
 Related behavioral abnormalities have
been found in non-human great apes
 Evidence from Neolithic times of the
practice of trepanation
◦ An attempt to cure ailments related to
mental disorders

4. History – Ancient Civilizations
Egyptian & Mesopotamian

◦ Ebers papyrus – describes disordered states of
concentration and attention, and emotional distress in
the heart or mind
◦ Somatic treatments included applying bodily fluids
while reciting magical spells
◦ Hallucinogens used as part of healing rituals
◦ Religious temples as therapeutic retreats
 Facilitate sleep & interpret dreams
Early Navajo Indians

◦ Many common techniques that are used today were
also used then
◦ No records of killings or sending away of the mentally
ill

5. History – Ancient Civilizations
Indian

◦ Ramayana & Mahabharata: fictional descriptions of
depression and anxiety states
◦ Mental disorders were thought to reflect abstract
metaphysical entities, supernatural agents, sorcery or
witchcraft
◦ Caraka Samhita, circa 600 BC: ill health is a result of
imbalance among 3 kinds of bodily fluids/forces
◦ Suggested causes: inappropriate diet; disrespect
towards the gods, teachers or others; mental shock
due to excessive fear or joy; faulty bodily activity
◦ Treatments: herbs & ointments, charms & prayers,
moral/emotional persuasion, shocking the person

6. History – Ancient Civilizations
Chinese

◦ Treatment under Traditional Chinese Medicine
 Herbs
 Acupuncture
 Emotional therapy
◦ Emphasis on the connections between bodily organs
and emotions
◦ Conditions thought to comprise 5 stages/elements
◦ Imbalance between Yin and Yang
Hebrew and Israelite

◦ Mental disorders caused by problems in the
relationship between the individual and God
◦ Mood disorders in Biblical figures in the Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament

7. History - Ancient Civilizations
Greek and Roman

◦ Diseases caused by an imbalance in 4 humours of
the body
◦ Hippocrates: proposed a triad of mental disorders
termed melancholia, mania, and phrenitis
◦ Plato: 2 types of mental illness
 Divinely inspired – person has prophetic powers
 Physical disease
◦ Aristotle: all mental illness caused by physical
problems
◦ Stereotypical madness – aimless wandering and
violence
◦ Treatments – ranged from drugs to beatings and
religious rituals

8. History – Middle Ages
Persia, Arabia and the Muslim Empire

◦ Greek texts were translated, analyzed, and integrated with
religious thoughts
◦ Links were made to the brain in various ways, as well as to
spiritual/mystical meaning
◦ Persian & Arabic scholars
 Al-Balkhi, Al-Tabari, Al-Razi (Rhazes), Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Al-
Ghazali, Ibn-Sina (Avicenna), Al-Majusi (Haly Abbas), Abu al-
Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis), and Averroes
◦ In Islam, the mentally ill were considered incapable yet
deserving of humane treatment & protection
◦ Mental disorders thought to be caused by possession by a
djin that was either good or demon-like
◦ The first psychiatric hospitals
◦ Benevolent treatments – baths, drugs, music & activities

9. History – Middle Ages
Christian Europe

◦ Concept of madness as a mixture of divine,
diabolical, magical & transcendental
◦ Theories of the 4 humors
◦ Arnaldus de Villanova: promoted trepanning
as a cure to let demons and excess humours
escape the body
◦ Madness seen as moral issue – either a
punishment for sin or a test of faith/character
◦ Episodes of mass mania – dancing in a way
that gives the appearance of insanity
◦ Care of the mentally ill was the responsibility
of the family

10. History – Modern Period
16th to 18th Centuries

◦ Many mentally ill were victims of witch-hunts,
however, those judges insane were admitted to
local workhouses, poorhouses, and jails
◦ End of 17th century: madness seen as an
organic physical phenomenon – no longer
involving the soul or moral responsibility
◦ New terminology for mental disorders and the
mentally ill
◦ End of 18th century: Moral Treatment Movement
 Notable figures: Vincenzo Chiarugi, Phillipe Pinel,
Quakers in England led by William Tuke, and Dorothea
Dix in the US

11. History – Modern Period
19th Century

◦ “the Great Confinement” – massive expansion of
the number & size of insane asylums
◦ Laws introduced to deal with the insane by the
family and the hospital
◦ It was argued that the mad also has
physical/organic problems, so that moral and
medical treatments were implemented
◦ Classification schemes and diagnostic terms
developed
◦ 1870s in North America – Lunatic Asylums
renamed Insane Asylums
◦ Increased diagnosis of mental disorders

12. History – Modern Period
20th Century

◦ Development of psychoanalysis, and later cognitive
behavioral therapy
◦ Kraeplelin’s classification – separating mood
disorders from schizophrenia
◦ “Inmates” became “patients, “asylums” became
“hospitals”
◦ “Mental Hygiene” movement in the US
◦ Development of clinical psychology and social work
◦ Need for a psychiatric manual for categorizing mental
disorders led to the firs DSM and the ICD
◦ New treatments
◦ Anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960s

13. Stigma of Mental Illness
Generally when people hear of mental illness

they think of severe cases that are associated
with bizarre behavior, violence, and a lack of
caring about themselves.
 People with mental illness are dehumanized in
this sense.
 Mentally ill often labeled as weak, fearful, violent,
or flawed
 Stigma also encompasses the family of the
mentally ill, as well as the individual themselves
 Video on personal experience with stigma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2r8aXyCO5Q

14. Stigma of Mental Illness
Study by Lauber, C. & Rossler, W. in

2007 on stigma towards people with
mental illness
◦ Fear of people w/ mental illness
◦ General attitudes towards people with mental
illness
◦ Attitudes towards treatment of mental
disorders
◦ Stigma among those affected
◦ Stigma towards families of people with
mental illness

15. Stigma of Mental Illness
Study by Magliano et. al. (2004) on the

beliefs about schizophrenia in Italy
◦ Lay respondents recognized the case in
vignette as a pathological disorder and that it
required psychiatric treatment – although not
recognize it as schizophrenia
◦ General public believed that persons with
schizophrenia can recover from it, with little
to no drugs given
◦ Belief that psychiatric patients are
unpredictable
◦ General public cannot discriminate between
different psychiatric disorders

16. Stigma of Mental Illness
Stigma is also effected by culture and how

each culture deals with its mentally ill
Vietnamese: person is punished for a wrong

doing in a previous life or b an angry ancestor
who has returned to possess them.
India: women are sent away to less-than-

adequate asylums by their families
Japan: mental illness is weakness of

character
China: mentally ill source of humiliation for

families

17. Culture & Mental Illness
In addition to stigma that can be different

from one culture to another, there are mental
disorders that are only specific to that culture
 Culture bound disorders are disorders that
are seen only within a specific culture
◦ Could have psychotic or somatic symptoms
Causes of these disorders are mostly related

to spiritual/religious beliefs
Treatments often take the form of religious

ceremonies and rituals – mostly carried out
by religious/spiritual Healers

18. Culture & Mental Illness
In a study by Ally & Laher (2008) the perceptions

of mental illnesses were seen from the South
African Muslim faith healers’ point of view on the
understanding and treating mental disorders
Belief in witchcraft and sorcery – Sihr

Ill will or the jealous intentions of others can

cause a person to become ill – nazr
Demonic possession – jinn

Treatments involve either sangoma (traditional

African healers), or Moulana’s, Sheikh’s, or
Matawaa’s (traditional Islamic healers)
The Zaar


19. Culture & Mental Illness
Culture bound disorders & descriptions
 Amok: Malaysia & SE Asia, Phillippines,
Ploynesia, New Guinea, Puerto Rico & Native
Americans (Navajo)
 Ataque de Nervios: Caribbean Latinos,
Latin American & Latin Mediterranean groups
 Falling Out: Ethnic groups in SE US,
especially Miami – primarily African
Americans & Afro-Caribbeans
 Hmong Sudden Death Syndrome: Laos
 Susto: Hispanic cultures in both the Old and
New Worlds

20. Conclusion
Mental illnesses have been around since

prehistoric times
 Stigma of mental illness
 Causes of mental illnesses among
different cultures
 Despite the many medical
advancements that have been made to
treat mental illness, many still believe
that mental illness is caused by spiritual
or religious reasons and that rituals are
still used as the means to treat the
individuals

21. References
Ally, Y., & Laher, S. (2008). South African muslim faith healers
perceptions of mental illness: Understanding, eatiology and
treatment. Journal of Religion and Health. 47, 45-56.
Flaskerud, J. H. (2000). Ethnicity, culture, and neuropsychiatry. Issues
In Mental Health Nursing. 21, 5-29.
History of mental disorders. (2009). History of mental disorders. In
Wikipedia [Web]. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mental_illness
Lauber, C., & Rossler, W. (2007). Stigma towards people with mental
illness in developing countries in Asia. International Review of
Psychiatry. 19, 157-178.
Magliano, L., Fiorillo, A., De Rosa, C., Malangone, C., & Maj, M.
(2004). Beliefs about schizophrenia in Italy: A comparative
nationwide survey of the general public, mental health professionals,
and patients’ relatives. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 49, 322-330.
Shepherd, S. (2004, September 1). MedHunters. Retrieved April 27,
2009, from www.medhunters.com Web site:
http://www.medhunters.com/articles/theyrePossessed.html