Mental Health Act 1959

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Mental Health Act 1959
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to Repeal the Lunacy and mental Treatment Acts 1890 to 1930, and the Mental Deficiency Acts 1913 to 1938, and to make fresh provisions with respect to the treatment and care of mentally disordered persons and with respect to their property and affairs, and for purposes connected with matters aforesaid.
Citation 7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 72
Dates
Royal assent 29 July 1959
Commencement 1 November 1960
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes
Amended by Mental Health Act 1983
Status: Partially repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Mental Health Act 1959 (7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 72) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales which had, as its main objectives, to abolish the distinction between psychiatric hospitals and other types of hospitals and to deinstituitionalise mental health patients and see them treated more by community care. [1]

It also defined the term mental disorder for the first time: "mental illness as distinct from learning disability. The definition was “mental illness; arrest or incomplete development of mind; psychopathic disorder; and any other disorder or disability of mind”. [2]

At the time, 0.4% of the population of England were housed in asylums, receiving the standard treatments of the time. [3] Their treatment was considered by the 1957 Percy Commission and the act resulted from its deliberations. The act was designed to make:

The Act repealed the Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts 1890 to 1930 and the Mental Deficiency Acts 1913 to 1938. [5]

One of the changes introduced by the Act was the abolishment of the category of "moral imbecile". [6] The category, which had been introduced in the 1913 Act, had been defined in such vague terms that it had allowed mothers of illegitimate children, especially in case of repeated births out of wedlock, to be regarded as "moral imbeciles" and thus to be placed in an institution for defectives or to be placed under guardianship. [7]

The 1959 version was repealed after the Mental Health Act 1983 was approved.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychiatric hospital</span> Hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders

Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals or behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative identity disorder, major depressive disorder, and others.

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Historically, mental disorders have had three major explanations, namely, the supernatural, biological and psychological models. For much of recorded history, deviant behavior has been considered supernatural and a reflection of the battle between good and evil. When confronted with unexplainable, irrational behavior and by suffering and upheaval, people have perceived evil. In fact, in the Persian Empire from 550 to 330 B.C., all physical and mental disorders were considered the work of the devil. Physical causes of mental disorders have been sought in history. Hippocrates was important in this tradition as he identified syphilis as a disease and was, therefore, an early proponent of the idea that psychological disorders are biologically caused. This was a precursor to modern psycho-social treatment approaches to the causation of psychopathology, with the focus on psychological, social and cultural factors. Well known philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, etc., wrote about the importance of fantasies, dreams, and thus anticipated, to some extent, the fields of psychoanalytic thought and cognitive science that were later developed. They were also some of the first to advocate for humane and responsible care for individuals with psychological disturbances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental health</span> Level of psychological well-being

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The Lanterman–Petris–Short (LPS) Act regulates involuntary civil commitment to a mental health institution in the state of California. The act set the precedent for modern mental health commitment procedures in the United States. The bipartisan bill was co-authored by California State Assemblyman Frank D. Lanterman (R) and California State Senators Nicholas C. Petris (D) and Alan Short (D), and signed into law in 1967 by Governor Ronald Reagan. The Act went into full effect on July 1, 1972. It cited seven articles of intent:

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The Mental Health Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the mental health law for the people in England and Wales. In particular, it provides the legislation by which people diagnosed with a mental disorder can be detained in a hospital or police custody and have their disorder assessed or treated against their wishes, informally known as "sectioning". Its use is reviewed and regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The Act was significantly amended by the Mental Health Act 2007. A white paper proposing changes to the act was published in 2021 following an independent review of the act by Simon Wessely.

Moral treatment was an approach to mental disorder based on humane psychosocial care or moral discipline that emerged in the 18th century and came to the fore for much of the 19th century, deriving partly from psychiatry or psychology and partly from religious or moral concerns. The movement is particularly associated with reform and development of the asylum system in Western Europe at that time. It fell into decline as a distinct method by the 20th century, however, due to overcrowding and misuse of asylums and the predominance of biomedical methods. The movement is widely seen as influencing certain areas of psychiatric practice up to the present day. The approach has been praised for freeing sufferers from shackles and barbaric physical treatments, instead considering such things as emotions and social interactions, but has also been criticised for blaming or oppressing individuals according to the standards of a particular social class or religion.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intellectual disability</span> Generalized neurodevelopmental disorder

Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning. It is defined by an IQ under 70, in addition to deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors that affect everyday, general living. Intellectual functions are defined under DSM-V as reasoning, problem‑solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from instruction and experience, and practical understanding confirmed by both clinical assessment and standardized tests. Adaptive behavior is defined in terms of conceptual, social, and practical skills involving tasks performed by people in their everyday lives.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunatic asylum</span> Place for housing the insane, an aspect of history

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idiots Act 1886</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Idiots Act 1886 was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was intended to give "... facilities for the care, education, and training of Idiots and Imbeciles".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mental Deficiency Act 1913</span> Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Mental Deficiency Act 1913 was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom creating provisions for the institutional treatment of people deemed to be "feeble-minded" and "moral defectives". "It proposed an institutional separation so that mental defectives should be taken out of Poor Law institutions and prisons into newly established colonies."

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References

  1. ""The Origins of Community Care"". BBC News. 13 October 1999.
  2. "History of legislation on disability". Rescare.
  3. A brief history of specialist mental health services, S Lawton-Smith and A McCulloch, Mental Health Foundation, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Ministry of Health: Mental Health Act 1959 General Policy, Registered Files (95,200 Series)". The National Archives.
  5. Power, Andrew (2016). "4. Carers policy in England". Landscapes of Care: Comparative Perspectives on Family Caregiving. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 63. ISBN   978-0-7546-7950-9.
  6. Mary P. Lindsey (11 March 2002). Dictionary of Mental Handicap. Routledge. p. 208. ISBN   978-1-134-97199-2.
  7. Higginbotham, Peter (31 March 2012). The Workhouse Encyclopedia. History Press Limited. p. 169. ISBN   978-0-7524-7719-0.