Annual Psychology Society Trip to Bethlem Museum of the Mind

Last week, Eighth Form pupils from the school’s psychology society visited the Bethlem Museum of the Mind. The pupils were introduced to the fascinating history of Bethlem Royal Hospital and how the treatment of patients has changed over the centuries. They were then invited to explore patient records from the hospital’s archives and look at the museum’s exhibitions which include artwork created by service users, ethical dilemmas around sectioning and more.

Pupils commented:

• “The most interesting thing about the trip was learning the history of mental illness treatment, which was surprisingly more progressive than I thought, albeit still not as good compared to modern treatments. I’ve previously had the conception of more religious “exorcism for demonic possession” type thing.”
• “The thing which I most enjoyed was seeing how the hospital worked in the past, as we saw the use of various animals and the freedom which was given to those in care to dress themselves and freely walk around the grounds. I also loved looking at the artwork, especially the painting which showed schizophrenia, where it showed a second huge disfigured head growing out of the head of a kneeling figure.”
• “I found that looking at the pop-up exhibition of the different skulls and brains conveying different emotions was the most interesting to me. I think especially because some of the quotes and words written next to each of them adds deeper aspects to think about to them and we’re quite relatable to me and probably other people too.”
• “My favourite part of the trip was looking at the arts on display, and see their relations with mental health.