Lunatic Asylums, Psychiatric Hospitals and Psychiatry

A lunatic is a commonly used term for a person who is mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, unpredictable,: a condition once called lunacy.

Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton. Scotland has a similar institution, located at Carstairs, officially known as The State Hospital; also called Carstairs Hospital.

The Broadmoor complex houses about 260 patients all of whom are men since the female service closed in September 2007, with most of the women moving to a new service in Southall, a few moving to the national high secure service for women at Rampton and a small number transferring elsewhere. At any one time there are also approximately 36 patients on trial leave at other units. Most of the patients there suffer from severe mental illness. Many of the patients also have personality disorders. Most have either been convicted of serious crimes, or been found unfit to plead in a trial for such crimes. Although average stay for the total population is about six years, the fact that some patients have stayed for over thirty years skews this figure. Most patients' stay is much shorter than six years.

The catchment area for the hospital has recently undergone some rationalisation of the London area and now serves all of the NHS Regions: London, Eastern, South East, South West.

One of the therapies available is the arts, and patients are encouraged to participate in the Koestler Awards Scheme.Writer Arthur Koestler founded the Koestler Trust with the aim of promoting the arts in special institutions, encouraging creativity and the acquisition of new skills. See

Rampton Secure Hospital is a high security psychiatric hospital near the village of Woodbeck between Retford and Rampton in the Bassetlaw District of Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated 2.3 km (1.4 miles) west-south-west of Rampton village, at Ordnance Survey grid reference SK 775 776 GB Grid.

In the Soviet Union, psychiatry was used for punitive purposes. Psychiatric hospitals were often used by the authorities as prisons in order to isolate political prisoners from the rest of society, discredit their ideas, and break them physically and mentally; as such they were considered a form of torture.See: Sidney Bloch and Peter Reddaway (1984). Soviet Psychiatric Abuse: The Shadow over World Psychiatry. Victor Gollancz, London.,

Psikhushka () is a Russian colloquialism for psychiatric hospital. It has been occasionally used in English since the dissident movement in the Soviet Union became known in the West.

Ankang () is a name shared by a number of psychiatric hospitals or asylums in China. The term literally means "peace and health the mentally ill". Many of these institutions are prison-hospitals for holding prisoners judged to be mentally ill, and operate directly under the local Public Security Bureau. As a result, "ankang" is sometimes used in the Western press to denote the system of prison-hospitals in China. However, not all ankang hospitals are prison-hospitals, and some offer conventional psychiatric and medical treatment services.

Some patients sent to these institutions are political prisoners or Falun Gong practitioners. By some estimates 3,000 political prisoners are held in about 25 ankang institutions across China. Section 1d: "Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile."

In criminal trials, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, an affirmative defense by which defendants argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law because they were legally insane at the time of the commission of alleged crimes. A defendant attempting such a defense will often be required to undergo a mental examination beforehand. The legal definition of "insane" is, in this context, quite different from psychiatric definitions of "mentally ill". When the insanity defense is successful, the defendant is usually committed to a psychiatric hospital.

In the United Kingdom and the United States, use of the defense is rare; it is more common to rely upon a state of temporary mental impairment. In the United States, this is not a legal defense, but a mitigating factor referred to as "diminished capacity". Mitigating factors, including things not eligible for the insanity defense like intoxication, may lead to reduced charges or reduced sentences. The insanity defense is available in most jurisdictions that respect human rights and have a rule of law although the extent to which it can be applied differs between jurisdictions.

The insanity defense is based on evaluations by forensic professionals that the defendant was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong at the time of the offense. Some jurisdictions require the evaluation to address the defendant's ability to control his or her behavior at the time of the offense. A defendant making the insanity argument might be said to be pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity" (NGRI) which, if successful, may result in the defendant being committed to a psychiatric facility for an indeterminate period.

Diminished responsibility or diminished capacity can be employed as a mitigating factor and in the United States is applicable to more circumstances than the insanity defense. For example, some jurisdictions accept inebriation or other drug intoxication as mitigating factors whilst intoxication is not accepted as an insanity defense on its own. If diminished responsibility or capacity is presented convincingly, the charges may be reduced to a lesser offense or the sentence may be more lenient.

Schizophrenia ( or ), from the Greek roots skhizein (???????, "to split") and phr?n, phren- (????, ????-; "mind") is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a neuropsychiatric and mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with around 0.4?0.6% of the population affected. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior. No laboratory test for schizophrenia currently exists.

Studies suggest that genetics, early environment, neurobiology, psychological and social processes are important contributory factors; some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms. Current psychiatric research is focused on the role of neurobiology, but no single organic cause has been found. As a result of the many possible combinations of symptoms, there is debate about whether the diagnosis represents a single disorder or a number of discrete syndromes. Despite its etymology, schizophrenia is not the same as dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder or split personality, with which it has been erroneously confused.

Increased dopamine activity in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain is consistently found in schizophrenic individuals. The mainstay of treatment is antipsychotic medication; this type of drug primarily works by suppressing dopamine activity. Dosages of antipsychotics are generally lower than in the early decades of their use. Psychotherapy, and vocational and social rehabilitation are also important. In more serious cases?where there is risk to self and others?involuntary hospitalization may be necessary, although hospital stays are less frequent and for shorter periods than they were in previous times.

The disorder is thought to mainly affect cognition, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional (comorbid) conditions, including major depression and anxiety disorders; the lifetime occurrence of substance abuse is around 40%. Social problems, such as long-term unemployment, poverty and homelessness, are common. Furthermore, the average life expectancy of people with the disorder is 10 to 12 years less than those without, due to increased physical health problems and a higher suicide rate.

Category: File - :Eugen Bleuler.jpg|thumb|The term Schizophrenia was coined by Eugen Bleuler