Behind the Walls of the World’s Psychiatric Hospitals

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This week we look at the early beginnings of what would become the Fernald State School in Massachusetts. At its outset, it was known as the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic Children. Find out how developmental disorders were classified back in the mid-19th century and what the school hoped to teach their students.

Trigger warning for outdated and ableist language, strong overtones of discrimination and dehumanization, and abuse toward children.

My main sources for this episode include the annual reports from the Fernald State School archives and the Wikipedia page on the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center.

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This week we reminisce about Sarah's recent trip to Crete and her visit to the Spinalonga Leper Colony. Learn about the three different "eras" the island experienced as a Venetian stronghold, Ottoman outpost, and leper colony. Discover more about leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, and the stigma surrounding it that persisted for centuries.

Sources used in this episode include the Spinalonga website and Wikipedia articles on Spinalonga and leprosy.

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This week we look at some of the paranormal activity and stories that have come from Camarillo State Hospital. Find out about the woman in white, the creepy goings-on in the former children's building, and the Scary Dairy. If YOU have a scary story from Camarillo State Hospital, please let me know!

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In this week's episode, we discuss the history of the children and adolescent programs at Camarillo State Hospital. Find out where children lived when they were first introduced to the hospital and how long it took them to get their own separate program. Learn what types of units made up the Adolescent Treatment Program and what services were offered to them.

My primary source is the Images of America book on Camarillo State Hospital by Evelyn S. Taylor and Mary E. Holt. Other sources include documents from the California State University digital archives.

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This week's episode explores the final decades of operation at Camarillo State Hospital. Learn about the introduction of the Developmental Center that separated patients with mental illness and those with developmental disorders. Find out how one patient attempted to escape from the hospital before being stopped. And discover when and why the hospital finally came to a close.

My main source for this episode is the Images of America book on Camarillo State Hospital by Evelyn S. Taylor and Mary E. Holt. All other sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.

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This week's episode examines the early years of Camarillo State Hospital in Camarillo, California. Find out why it grew so quickly in its first decade, and learn how many patients it housed at its peak. Discover which movie patients said was true to life at the hospital and was one that the public needed to see.

My main source will be the Images of America book on Camarillo State Hospital by Evelyn S. Taylor and Mary E. Holt. Other sources include the CSU-Channel Islands Digital Library. All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.

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This week's episode explores the life and hospitalizations of author and artist Zelda Fitzgerald. Discover where she was institutionalized throughout her life and how her life came to a tragic end. Learn about the Craig House in Beacon, NY, where she was hospitalized for a time and find out what amenities were available to patients who resided there.

My main source for this episode is an Atlas Obscura article written by Luke Spencer.

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This week, Sarah interviews Rusty Tagliareni (photographer and co-author of the Images of America book on Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital) and Lisa Marie Blohm (President of Preservation Works advocacy group) to discuss what it was like to try and save the old Kirkbride building at Greystone Park and what Preservation Works is doing now to try and save other historical sites.

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This week's episode tells the story of a patient, Harrison W. Noel, who was committed to Greystone Park for the rest of his life following the commission of a gruesome double murder and kidnapping. Learn about his symptoms prior to the crime spree and find out which infamous murder Noel hoped to copy.

All sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.

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This week's episode examines the life, music, activism, and eventual hospitalization of folk singer Woody Guthrie. Find out how he got started in music and who influenced him along the way. Learn why he was eventually committed to Greystone Park Psychiatric Center for five years on "Wardy Forty."

My main sources for this episode include the book Woody Guthrie's Wardy Forty: Greystone Park State Hospital Revisited by Phillip Buehler, the Woody Guthrie website, and the Wikipedia page on Woody Guthrie. All other sources will be listed at the end of the episode transcript.

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