A Mind That Found ItselfIn 1905, Clifford Beers (1876-1943) commenced his autobiography that became a classic for mental health professionals. As he recordedin his finished book, A Mind That Found Itself, “I began to write. Within two days I had written about fifteen thousand words—for the most part on the subject of reforms and how to effect them.” He had already himself experienced treatment as a mental patient, and he wished to document the appalling conditions and maltreatment by staff in asylums. His unsettled elation upon beginning the work caused his brother to have him committed again, temporarily, to an institution. When the book was eventually published (Mar 1908), he raised the public consciousness and indeed prompted reform in the care of mental patients. By 1921, it had five editions.« |
