In the mid-20th century, the pendulum swung back toward biology. The discovery of in the 1950s revolutionized treatment. For the first time, severe symptoms of psychosis could be managed with medication, leading to widespread deinstitutionalization —the closing of large state asylums in favor of community-based care.
In antiquity, mental distress was often framed through the lens of the supernatural. Ancient civilizations often attributed "madness" to demonic possession or divine punishment. However, a shift toward medicalization began with (c. 460–370 BCE), who argued that mental disorders had natural causes stemming from imbalances in the four "humors" (blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm). This was the first major step toward treating the mind as a function of the body. The Great Confinement and Moral Treatment History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology: W...
Simultaneously, emerged, blending the study of observable behavior with the internal "computer" of the mind. This created a more evidence-based, short-term approach to psychological treatment. Modern Psychiatry: The Biopsychosocial Model In the mid-20th century, the pendulum swung back
Today, the field is defined by the . Practitioners recognize that a person’s mental health is determined by: Biological factors: Genetics and brain chemistry. In antiquity, mental distress was often framed through
For centuries, "madness" was managed by isolation. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the "Great Confinement" saw the mentally ill housed in workhouses and asylums like in London, often in inhumane conditions.