Dorothea Dix Philosophy

Originally named Dorothea Lynde Dix, she was born in Hampden, Maine during the year 1802. While growing up, however, Dix did not experience a normal childhood, instead she grew up in an unhappy home with neglectful parents. As a result, she suffered from depression at several times and by age thirty three, Dix had a complete physical and psychological breakdown. In order to restore her health, Dix embarked on a trip to Europe in 1836 where she resided in the home of William Rathbone and his family of wealthy, socially conscious liberals. During her stay in England, Dix was frequently in contact with English modern ideas of prison and mental health reform and she had the opportunity to meet several individuals who supported the cause such as, …show more content…
By 1820, it had already been recognized that mental illness was illness, not sin or depravity, therefore, many institutions across the world had begun to free the mentally ill from excessive restraints and had also begun to establish the concept of humane treatment in institutions devoted to their care. Dix, however, perfected the idea and the new model of care became known as the moral treatment. The moral treatment consisted of removing mentally ill persons from a stressful environment and family conflicts and placing them under a rather benign but autocratic system of organized living. There were regular hours of habits, and the patients were kept occupied with crafts such as gardening and more. Everything was under the close supervision of a superintendent, a physician, and his word was law. In America, institutions in Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Hartford had already established the moral treatment which served a small number of people which were generally well-to do and able to pay for their care. Although the moral treatment mostly worked for private institution because of the high cost, Dix was not discouraged, instead she used her charm and public appeal to raise funds for the promotion of the moral treatment. Furthermore, Dix also played a role in the creation of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII). In 1844, when the AMSAII was founded by 13 men, they were very dependent on Dix since she was the organizations devoted unpaid lobbyist in state capitals and in Washington. Also, Dix was the leading figure in the national and international movements that challenged the idea that people with mental disturbances could not be cured or helped. Consequently,