Dr. Peter Bryce was a pioneering figure in the field of mental health. Practicing in the post–Civil War era, he championed more humane therapeutic treatments for the mentally ill - and is the namesake of Bryce Hospital - located on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, who had first begun as a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. He had studied mental-health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey, as well as his native state of South Carolina. His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their own newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own.
The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, who had first begun as a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. He had studied mental-health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey, as well as his native state of South Carolina. His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their own newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own.
Dr. Peter Bryce was a pioneering figure in the field of mental health. Practicing in the post–Civil War era, he championed more humane therapeutic treatments for the mentally ill - and is the namesake of Bryce Hospital - located on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, who had first begun as a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. He had studied mental-health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey, as well as his native state of South Carolina. His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their own newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own.
The Alabama Insane Hospital opened in 1861. It was later renamed for its first superintendent, Peter Bryce, who had first begun as a 27-year-old psychiatric pioneer from South Carolina. He had studied mental-health care in Europe and worked in psychiatric hospitals in New Jersey, as well as his native state of South Carolina. His tenure was marked by absolute discipline among the staff of the hospital. He demanded that patients be given courtesy, kindness and respect at all times. The use of shackles, straitjackets and other restraints was discouraged, and finally abandoned altogether in 1882. Various work programs and other activities were encouraged, including farming, sewing, maintenance and crafts. Between 1872 and the early 1880s, some of the patients wrote and edited their own newspaper, called The Meteor. These writings provide a rare inside look at life in a progressive mental institution in the late 19th century. At that time, Bryce's management and commitment to "scientific treatments" was recognized around the country as being in a class of its own.
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