Trace the development of the Greek tradition in medicine on the causes and treatments of mental disorders. Trace the development of asylums from the Middle Ages to the 1800s in the United States.

What will be an ideal response?

In contrast to earlier times, the Greek philosopher Hippocrates proposed natural explanations for mental disorders. He suggested that a balance among four humors was necessary for health. An excess or deficiency in one of the humors could result in a disorder. His attempts to uncover natural, biological explanations dominated medical thought in Western countries until the middle of the nineteenth century. During the Middle Ages, "lunatics" or "idiots" (terms used for the mentally ill and mentally retarded) aroused little interest. Their disturbed behavior was considered to be the responsibility of the family rather than the community or the state. In the 1600s and 1700s "insane asylums" were established to house the mentally disturbed. However, changes in economic, demographic, and social conditions brought a different perspective to the care of the mentally ill. For example, there was rapid population growth and the rise of large cities between 1790 and 1850 in the United States. This increased urbanization led to a shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Lunatic asylums were created to serve the needs of heavily populated cities and to assume responsibilities that had been performed by families. Although the early asylums were little more than warehouses, the moral treatment movement led to improved conditions in some of these hospitals. This approach offered support, care, and some degree of freedom rather than just confinement. This treatment approach coupled with Dorothea Dix's advocacy led to expansion of the number of mental institutions in the United States.