Evening star., 1938-10-23
EX-MENTAL CASES
MAP CAMPAIGN
viii Carry Rehabilitation
Fight Into Open at
Session Soon.

CuTy DlCLlWS OF 1HSQHtLy III some
parts OF the ,Dorld were subjected
to torture.@ This aDeek in Chicago
d group OF former mental patients,
discharged as cured, wiH make
psychiatric history by ,Ddging an
open campaign to eliminate the
stigma they say many people at
tdch to them. The tollo,Ding story
outlines their forthcoming fight.
~ the Associated Press.
CHICAGO, Oct. pa new chap
ter in mans eternal struggle for
mental health will be written in
Chicago next Thursday night, when
former mental patients carry directly
to the public a plea for chance at
rehabilitation.
They demand respectful return
to society-unencumber by what they
describe as the stigma" the world
has given them.
The group will meet at the Psychia-
trio Institute of the University of IL
linois in what DR.. A. A. Low, its
assistant director, pictured as his
making" session-a new mile
stone in psychiatry.
1t will mark the first time group
Of discharged mental patients and
their relatives present an open united
front to regain for them their nor
NAL status in society.
A drive to eliminate court action
In committing mental patients to hos
pitals, a procedure which DR.. Low
said was one of the major factors pro-
ducing the stigma" was named as
the specific objective of the meeting,
sponsored by the university and the
State Department of Public Welfare.
Talks for General Public.
Two former patients, man and
a woman, physicians from the in
stitute, and representatives of the
sponsors, will open the campaign with
addresses before the general public
and members of State and city civic
organizations.
The one-time victims Of mental all
ments are members of the Associa-
ton of Former Patients of the Psy-
chiatric Institute of the University of
Illinois and of the State Department
of Public Welfare
They organized about a year ago
to refute what DR.. Low said was the
general belief that a person once in
sane "is always insane" All of the
former patients were discharged from
the institute as recovered. most of
them after receiving either the in
sulin or metrozol shock treatments
Starting with 80 members, the as
sociation now has more than 200, in
cluding relatives. Discharged patients
automatically become affiliated. DR.
Low is president of the group.
A sister organization has recently
been perfected at the State Hospital
for the Insane at Peoria, and DR.
Low said today there was further
evidence to indicate the anti-stigma
rehabilitation movement was gaining
Nationwide momentum.
Inquiries have been received from
the East West and South, indicating
widespread interest" he said.
THE commissioner of the State
Department of Mental Hygiene of one
of the Eastern States asked us about
three months ago whether it wouldn' t
be advisable to begin a similar Or
ganization in his State. We advised
against it until we could have time
to gather sufficient experience to avoid
making any mistakes. but we are
ready now. We also wanted to wait
q year until our organization was
solidified
Shock Treatments.
"One of the difficulties was after
recovery methods. The new shock
treatments, when successful, restore
the central nervous systems that had
broken down, but many patients, after
recovery, are puzzled, bewildered and
sensitive, partly because of the stigma
they encounter. The after-recovery
treatment therefore becomes purely
psychological.
"The staff Of the hospital is not
physically able to deal with the prob
lens of every individual and all that
can be done is to inaugurate the So
called group treatment which requires
. SpCSldl 1ilCOllOu WOA AhSo OuU Ou1 Als
the past year.
This consists of group discussions
on the problems of adjustment, with
particular reference to the issue Of the
stigma and its removal.
Meanwhile our program has been
crystalized. Foremost is the plan to
do away with court procedure-elim-
inate the judge and the sheriff.
cat present patients admittance
to a mental hospital is made on rec
ommendation of physician, for in
stance his private physician. From
that moment on the patient becomes
q legal object-not medical condi-
ton. He is handled by the court and
the sheriff. He gets a court hearing
and then is legally committed. The
consequence is he has stigma based
mainly on the fact he has a court
record.
breads Court Record.
''His family breads the court record
always. Members of family will
bleed themselves to death financially
to give him treatment in private
sanitarium to avoid the court record
They are afraid-perhaps unjustly-
that the court record is open to inspec-
ton by his employers, his friends and
his neighbors.
''Due to this fact we decided that the
stigma cannot be eliminated unless the
court is eliminated from the process
of having mental patients committed
Leading lawyers have advised us this
can be done within the framework OF
both the State and Federal constitu-
tions, but we need public support for
such move. Therefore we called
this public meeting.
1.-THE situation with which we are
confronted is this: Patients recover and
when they attempt to reintegrate
themselves in the community the COM
munity lashes out against them from
. spirit of either hostility or owe,
solicitude.