Freedom
Just another word for nothin’ left to lose?
Psychological Context
-
Deinstitutionalisation - Transferring the treatment of mental illness from inpatient institutions to community based facilities that emphasize outpatient care (Weiten, 1998).
-
America at forefront of this psychiatric revolution- made possible by new psychotropic medications and encouraged by success of enhanced psychiatric practices after WW2.
-
1963 J.F Kennedy proposed this ‘the bold new approach’
-
Community mental health centres emerged as the viable alternative to custodial care offering effective treatments and social integration - backed up by psychological, social and economic research findings
Historical photos from Goodna Special Hospital: 1970s
Photos taken by Staff Photograph from the Brisbane Telegraph in the early 1970’s at the invitation of the Medical Superintendent Dr Ormonde Orford. Photos donated by Dr Orford.
Community Mental Health Centres
-
Worked well for the ‘worried well’ but not the ‘suffering sick’.
-
Seriously mentally ill people (eg., people with schizophrenia) did not actively seek out services and found it difficult to engage in these services
-
Mixed findings on research on success or failure
-
On the positive side – community living allowed sense of freedom
-
On the negative side – lack of support systems and basic living or social skills
Hostel Living
“The policeman said no more singing Elvis on the streets. No disturbing the peace. You get fined for that these days. It taught me a bit of a lesson. Twenty buck fine. Your voice is like a corrugated road, the policeman said”
“When I queue up no one lines up behind me, I’m always the last in the line and no one ever gets behind me. I’ve noticed this for years”
“I don’t know if I am alive or dead, am I a ghost? Everything looks surreal for one thing”
“At first I was apprehensive entering David’s locked room but later I felt privileged. His life was contained within these walls and he was sharing it with me. It was a very different story than I expected”
This research has been conducted with consent of the participants and with approval from the Griffith University ethics committee.
Major finding:
Freedom is quality of life
“This place is my home, where I have my friends. The supervisors, they look after me. You know, I’ve lived in hospital from when I was 15… for the next 20 years. I’d rather live here than there! You’ve got a room and friends, but your not locked in a cell. You’ve got your freedom”