Biology Forums - Study Force

Why did "treatment" of the mentally ill in the 1500's focus on torture, exorcism, or hanging?

▸ These methods had proven effective in curing people with mental illness in the past, so practitioners stayed with a tried-and-true approach.

▸ Herbal remedies were the preferred treatment of choice, but it was too difficult to gather the ingredients needed for more humane treatment.

▸ These methods were popular with crowds, and authorities wanted a large group to witness the consequences of mental illness.

▸ The predominant view of the time was that mental illness was a form of demonic possession, which led to treatment methods aimed at ridding a person of the "demon."

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