Process Paper
We started out with a very vague question concerning mental institutions. Once we began research, we had to focus on a certain person, place, or event to narrow our topic. We researched prominent figures with ties to Chicago, until we found Elizabeth Packard. We focused on Elizabeth Packard, her influence on mental health, and the significance of a successful woman activist. We found multiple photographs and primary sketches from the 1800s that depicted the corrupt treatments of patients institutionalized. We used different articles focusing on Packard’s trial and her success as an activist. We used both present day articles and primary newspaper articles that commemorated Packard's success. We found government documents that stated the Packard Laws and present day documents establishing the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the Americans with Disabilities Act. To find this myriad of supporting resources, we traveled to the UIC Campus Library and the Harold Washington Chicago Public Library to gather research from books, and also used various websites to locate information. We chose the category of a website because we believed that it could best display our various elements and information. In modern times, one of the most frequently used devices is the computer, and with a website, we can easily share our findings with all people around the country and the world who have access to internet. All of our elements came together to produce a very strong project with concise analysis on Elizabeth Packard and the improvements she made for the mentally ill, specifically the female patients.
A great amount of progress has been made since the nineteenth century in mental health, showing how our project is a prime example of a turning point in history. Present day mental hospitals offer private care where patients can be individually treated depending on their illness. Nurses and other employees of asylums during the 1800s ineffectively used physical methods to treat the insane. In modern times, those who care for the patients use medical and emotional tactics with care. The staff of institutions are very attentive today, constantly checking on their patients, making sure they are following their set routine. The government also recognizes the mentally ill with equality with various legislatures involving their rights and opportunities have been passed. One example of this advancement is the establishment of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 by President Bush. This Commission helps to eliminate any inequality for Americans with mental or other disabilities. Acts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act increased job and educational opportunities for the disabled as well as technological aids created to help those with disabilities participate socially. Improvements in asylum conditions and treatment methods as well as government aid of those who were previously shunned due show how mental illnesses are now considered treatable as well as acceptable by society, a feat that would not have been achieved without the help of Elizabeth Packard.
A great amount of progress has been made since the nineteenth century in mental health, showing how our project is a prime example of a turning point in history. Present day mental hospitals offer private care where patients can be individually treated depending on their illness. Nurses and other employees of asylums during the 1800s ineffectively used physical methods to treat the insane. In modern times, those who care for the patients use medical and emotional tactics with care. The staff of institutions are very attentive today, constantly checking on their patients, making sure they are following their set routine. The government also recognizes the mentally ill with equality with various legislatures involving their rights and opportunities have been passed. One example of this advancement is the establishment of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 by President Bush. This Commission helps to eliminate any inequality for Americans with mental or other disabilities. Acts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act increased job and educational opportunities for the disabled as well as technological aids created to help those with disabilities participate socially. Improvements in asylum conditions and treatment methods as well as government aid of those who were previously shunned due show how mental illnesses are now considered treatable as well as acceptable by society, a feat that would not have been achieved without the help of Elizabeth Packard.