History and Evolution of Psychiatric Hospitals in Lima: Changing Attitudes and Community-Based Care

🏥 The video explores the history of psychiatric hospitals in Lima, Peru, starting from colonial times.

🧠 These hospitals were initially called 'lo querías' and later renamed asylums and mental health hospitals.

🌍 The names of these establishments changed over time to reflect advancements in mental health treatment methods and attitudes towards individuals with mental illness.

🏥 The Hospital de San Andrés, founded in 1552, was a hospital exclusively for Spanish people in Lima.

🏛️ The hospital was designed in a medieval religious style and had a central courtyard called La Lotería where mentally disturbed patients were kept.

👑 The hospital had a royal status and provided care for the sick, including mentally ill patients, during the colonial period.

🏥 Due to an institutional crisis, psychiatric hospitals in Lima faced overcrowding, poor services, and patient mistreatment.

🔒🔗 In the mid-19th century, new philosophical currents such as eugenics and innovative psychiatric instruments like straightjackets arrived in Peru.

🏘️ To improve the treatment of mentally ill patients, a new hospital called the Hospital of Mercy, later known as Insane Asylum, was established in Lima.

💊🧠 Jose Casimiro Ulloa, a prominent doctor, implemented a moral treatment approach, where mental illness was believed to be curable and communication between patients and doctors was key.

🚪🔓 The moral treatment also involved removing restraints from patients and providing them with proper care and attention.

🧩🪑 The Hospital of Mercy had a segregated architecture, with separate spaces for men and women, categorized into different mental illnesses.

⚖️🏥 Later, Dr. Manuel Muñiz highlighted the shortcomings of the Hospital of Mercy, such as overcrowding and outdated design.

🏥 In the late 19th century, the psychiatric hospital in Lima faced criticism and a severe crisis due to increased patient numbers and inadequate facilities.

👩‍⚕️ Women were often interned in mental institutions for reasons like widowhood, lack of children, and creativity, ignoring the true causes of their illnesses.

⛓️ The treatment methods in the hospital included repressive measures like using cages, restraints, and forceful garments, reflecting a cruel and primitive approach to mental health.

🏥 The Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital in Lima was built with the intention of allowing patients to be in contact with nature, improving their health.

👥 The hospital was initially managed by nuns and focused on creating a self-sustaining community where patients could work and improve their condition.

🏢 The Larco Herrera Hospital played a significant role in the treatment of mental illnesses in Peru, implementing innovative therapies and attracting renowned psychiatrists.

⭐️ The convention of children's rights led to a decrease in child hospitalizations for mental illnesses in Lima.

🏥 Neuropsychiatric clinics were established in Lima during the 1930s-1950s to accommodate the growing population of people with mental illnesses.

🎨 Dr. Honorio Delgado used art therapy to diagnose and improve the condition of psychiatric patients in Lima, leading to the creation of the art collection at the Victor Larco Herrera Museum.

💊 Dr. Honorio Delgado introduced the first antipsychotic medication in Peru in 1953, revolutionizing psychiatric treatment.

🏥 The treatments of mental illnesses in Lima's psychiatric hospitals were seen as a punishment and often lacked proper tools and medications.

🏢 Overpopulation was a major issue in Lima's psychiatric hospitals, leading to the establishment of the Hermilio Valdizán Hospital.

🔬 The Instituto Nacional de Salud Mental Honorio Delgado-Hideyo was built in 1982 to research and find solutions to mental health problems.

💡 There is now a consensus on decentralizing mental health care and providing community mental health centers for early intervention and treatment.