Dorothea Dix's Mental Health Reform

Dorothea Dix was famously known for her contributions in the Mental Health reform and in her great efforts in organizing military hospitals during the Civil War. Dorothea Dix during her early years was always compassionate and caring for her loved ones, no matter the cause. With this, it lead to her going at great lengths to help those in need. For example, during her teenage years she started a school for girls who wanted an education because at the time they were not welcomed to go to school.
Not only did she help those girls get an education but her compassion led her to gain an even greater challenge to be solved. That was one of her well known projects which was the Mental Health reform that occurred during the early 1800’s. During a visit to a mental prison for a teaching job, she saw the mistreatment of the prisoners and could not stand and do nothing. She started working furiously to improve treatments in the mental prisons due to it being unregulated and underfunded. As the prisons being unregulated and underfunded, it resulted to abuse …show more content…
She was strict and set guidelines for the nurses, which she was not afraid to fire any nurses that did not meet the expectations. In her days of superintendent, she acquired medical supplies from the north and trained nurses so they could be assigned to Union Army hospitals. Working hard and efficient she earned the reputation as firm leader with an effective corporation of nurses.
Ultimately, Dorothea Dix was a methodical leader and after the Civil War she returned to her work for education. Even if her time in the Civil War passed, she did not stop from trying to improve situations in the mental health institutions. With this, Dorothea Dix returned to work as a social reformer. Dix traveled to Europe and publically spoke about the refinements needed in hospitals and lead to even more of a widespread knowledge of the mentally