Moral Treatment to Monolith: The Institutional Treatment of the Insane in Manitoba, 1871-1919

This paper describes the development of asylums from the era of moral treatment, in the early nineteenth century, to the large, overcrowded asylums of the early twentieth century. By using the asylums of Manitoba as an example of this change, the discussion illustrates the increased reliance on the asylum to act as a mode of treatment. Asylum design, as a therapeutic tool, reflected the particular views of treating insanity as well as the social conditions surrounding the construction of the asylum. The design of the asylum incorporated organization, classification, and discipline along with security in an attempt to calm and cure insanity. The "well ordered asylum" was the best means of treating insanity in an age when medical knowledge could do little for those incarcerated in asylums. Unfortunately, and counter to the best interests of architects and medical superintendents, asylum design exacerbated the poor conditions of care caused by overcrowding and lack of personal care.