Biomaterial Database

Norway: water and class in nineteenth-century psychiatry. 1997

W Blomberg

Department of Criminology, University of Oslo, Norway.

Water has long been considered an effective means of therapy for mental disorders. Its use, however, was divided along class lines during the nineteenth century. After presenting a brief background of the general conditions of the insane in Norway around the mid-nineteenth century when modern psychiatry entered the scene, I will present some examples of developments in hydrotherapy--fashionable bath resorts for the rich, and the use of prolonged baths as coercive treatment for asylum paupers.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009664	Norway	A country located in northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden. The capital is Oslo.	Kingdom of Norway
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006875	Hydrotherapy	External application of water for therapeutic purposes, such as whirlpool baths or water shiatsu.	Water Shiatsu,WaterShiatsu,Watsu Therapy,Whirlpool Baths,Bath, Whirlpool,Baths, Whirlpool,Shiatsu, Water,Therapy, Watsu,Whirlpool Bath
D001494	Baths	The immersion or washing of the body or any of its parts in water or other medium for cleansing or medical treatment. It includes bathing for personal hygiene as well as for medical purposes with the addition of therapeutic agents, such as alkalines, antiseptics, oil, etc.	Bath
D001523	Mental Disorders	Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.	Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D012923	Social Class	A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.	Caste,Social Gradients,Socioeconomic Level,Socioeconomic Status,Middle Class Population,Castes,Class, Social,Gradient, Social,Level, Socioeconomic,Middle Class Populations,Population, Middle Class,Social Classes,Social Gradient,Socioeconomic Levels,Status, Socioeconomic
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History