This portrait depicts Dorothea Dix, a social reformer who became an advocate for the indigent insane and was instrumental in creating the first American mental asylum by relentlessly lobbying state legislatures and Congress to set up and fund such institutions.

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In the 19th century, Dorothea Dix spearheaded significant mental health care reforms in the United States. After investigating the conditions for the mentally ill and poor, she uncovered a system rife with abuse that was both underfunded and unregulated. Motivated by these discoveries, Dix began lobbying state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, which successfully led to the establishment of the country's first mental asylums.

Dorothea Dix

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Despite the efforts of activists, asylum opened in the United States suffered also from hygienic issues and inhumane treatments of patients. It wasn't until 1983 that large asylums were closed (deinstitutionalization began) and alternative measures in helping and treating mental health problems were being considered.

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