“In this part of the true horror, Mental American Monster The Sprawl of American Psychiatry, nineteenth century justifications of the use of solitary and confinement are made to the New York State Legislature. I believe that at least some of these questions of the mad doctors at the Utica State Lunatic Asylum from the New York State Legislature are a direct consequence of Phebe B. Davis (1855) a former inmate who upon her release published an expose about the practices of the state’s first taxpayer funded institution entitled, “Two Years and Three Months at the Utica State Lunatic Asylum.” In detail are some of the rules of the Asylums and discussion of the Utica Crib.
“There is a picture in this film of the Utica Crib credited to Dianne Frank that I found on Creative Commons and is listed as public domain. I played with the image and changed the colors, but I wanted to say I think the image of the Utica Crib that Frank captured was powerful and I am appreciative of Dianne Frank’s work and willingness to make her photo available for public use. I also own professional licenses for stock video through ArtGrid and audio through ArtList. If you would like to learn more about these terrific resources, just ask me. I am also available for small projects. Currently, Mental American Monster The Sprawl of American Psychiatry is an unfunded project. These videos are in part of a future campaign to gain support for this and other historical and contemporary work I (Lauren Tenney) and others who are choosing to work with me, are doing. Thank you for your time and attention.”
Lauren Tenney
https://www.youtube.com/@mentalamericanmonster
1. The beginning of ‘modern’ psychiatry – a descent into hell
