Psychology Society Trip to Bethlem Museum of Mind

Last Wednesday, the Eighth Form members of the Psychology Society visited the Bethlem Museum of Mind.

They spent the morning learning about the history of Bethlem Hospital as well as how ideas and approaches to mental health in the UK have changed over the centuries. This even contained a nod to the writings of Old Pauline, Samuel Pepys, who encouraged others to visit the hospital to see the patients…although the pupils judged this practice to be a very problematic one. They then had the chance to explore the museum which contained exhibits of artwork created by current service users as well as lots of historical reports and testimonies by those who have used and visited the hospital. In the afternoon they engaged in a workshop which looked at a patient case study and, after learning about “sectioning”, they had to debate whether a particular service user should be granted weekend leave and what the moral dilemmas surrounding “sectioning” are.

Pupil Feedback:

• “I found the history of the science behind clinical psychology to be a very interesting account to how people are drawn to conclude how the mind works. The diagram of the elements, moods and imbalances (black bile, phlegm, blood etc) was especially interesting because it showed the innateness of people to try to explain mental phenomena in terms of over simplistic systems. This puts into question our modern view of mental illnesses as highlighted by the speaker.”
• “I found the paintings and photos in the exhibition interesting as they powerfully conveyed the emotions and thoughts of the patients. Some of the paintings displayed their perspective of the world and it helped you to try and look at the world through their lens.”
• “I found it surprising that [a historical] common entertainment would be to go see mental patients and watch their behaviour as if they were animals. Furthermore, quite early on within the Victorian era, the use of pets as an emotional support and tether for patients had been noticed. I thought this to be interesting as I believed the connection between humans and animals had been a more recent discovery.”
• “The discussion about the Mental Health act, and especially sectioning, stuck with me because of the relevance today and how Lauren’s [fictional] case would have been handled now. It prompted me to think about the thoughts and feelings of people who have been sectioned, and I think the question of whether it was right to section 100 people to only help a small minority of them was very profound.”
• “I found that the juxtaposition between the artwork of mental health problems and recovery was extremely interesting. One that stood out to me was the picnic in the field, where there was a small coconut-shaped object in the bottom left that was cracked open and had lines inside of it, somehow signifying the fact that suffering from one of the disorders and even recovering from it still means that it’ll always be there, away for a minute and reduced but still there. It really showed me how much of an impact these disorders had on people and really affected them.”