Rationales for the Use of Occupation in 19th Century Asylums

Abstract

The use of occupation was a key aspect of moral treatment, the reformed management of the ‘mad’¹ in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Physicians observed that the lack of occupation exacerbated symptoms, and held the philosophical and religious beliefs that occupation was intrinsically good and that patients should be encouraged to become useful members of society. They propounded that occupation could divert or provide respite from the patients' delusional or painful thoughts; could counteract symptoms by stimulating the withdrawn, calming the excited and channelling the activity of the obsessive; could be used to strengthen underdeveloped mental faculties or improve existing ones; and, finally, could provide bodily exercise which induced tranquil and refreshing sleep.

Some American authors have already explored the links between moral treatment and occupational therapy. This article attempts to identify the rationales for occupation in a British context.