• HOME
• THE LANGUAGE OF MADNESS
• THE ASYLUM
• • Asylum Design
  • Patient Buildings
• SOCIETY
• • Urban & Rural Life
  • Class & Gender
  • The Hysterical Female
  • The Evils of "Self-Abuse"
  • Family
  • Visitors
• LEGISLATION
• • Legislative Influence
  • Origins of Legislation and the Criminality of Insanity
  • Teenaged Years: Marked Custody Transition
  • Turn of the Century: Voluntary Admissions
  • Updated Act: The Mental Hospital Act
• SUPERINTENDANTS
• STAFF
• • Working at the LAI
  • Hiring Practices
  • Rules for Employees
  • Employee Roles in Moral Therapy
  • Doctors at LAI
  • Doctor Connections to UWO
  • Training School for Nurses
  • Attendants
  • General Staff
• PATIENT PERSPECTIVES
• • Introduction
  • Patient Art
  • Patient Letters
  • Their Voice
• MEDICAL TREATMENTS
• • Medical Treatment Introduction
  • Use of Restraints
  • Drug and Alcohol
  • Hydrotherapy
  • Female Surgeries
  • Neurosyphilis
  • Shock Therapy
  • Lobotomies
• MORAL THERAPY
• • Moral Therapy Introduction
  • Labour
  • Amusements
  • Diet
  • Religion
• THE WORLD WARS
• • Before the First World War
  • During the First World War
  • After the First World War
  • The First World War and the LAI
  • First World War Veterans at the LAI
  • The Second World War
• MEMORIES OF RMHCL
• • Introduction
  • Their Memories

Credits

This digital exhibit was created by the 2008-2009 UWO Public History students: Natalie Dyck, Lois Fenton, Heather George, Kalyna Klymkiw, Ruthann LaBlance, Jenna Leifso, Meili Ma, Sophie Malek, Sarah Maloney, Krista McCracken, Meaghan Nelligan, Andrew Robertson, Melissa Robinson, David W. Rodger, and Vicky Tran, in collaboration with St. Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care London (RMHCL) and Museum London.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the staff at RMHCL who shared their expertise and knowledge about the history of psychiatric care and its evolution at the London Asylum for the Insane. Special thanks to Dale Jardine and Amanda Jackman  for their commitment and assistance throughout the project. Additionally, we appreciate the contribution of staff, past and present, whose interest and participation made the oral history section of the website possible.

The feedback and assistance provided by Maya Hirschman and Kevin Zacher of Museum London also contributed to the development of this exhibit, and we are grateful for their help.

We would also like to thank the archivists and staff at the Archives and Research Collections Centre whose expert knowledge of the collections of the University of Western Ontario Archives was an invaluable resource to the project.

The staff at London Public Library, the Ivey Family London Room, and the St. Thomas Library also gave generously of their time and knowledge in helping us locate pertinent research materials.

Census data was helpfully provided by Dr. Jason Gilliland of the UWO Geography Department and by the 1871 and 1891 Census Projects at the University of Guelph.

Additional thanks to Dr. Shelley McKellar and Dr. Geoffrey Reaume, who served as external reviewers for the exhibit.

Finally, we would especially like to thank Dr. Michelle Hamilton, Director of the Public History Program, for her patience and dedication throughout every stage of the project.