A Refuge of Cure or Care: The Sensory Dimensions of Confinement at the Worcester State Hospital for the Insane

Madeline Kearin Ryan's book explores the therapy model of the nineteenth-century asylum, which believed that the five senses provided a direct conduit into a person's mental condition. Ryan examines how the institution was designed to target each of the five senses as a mode of therapy, but this design materialized in the haphazard realm of institutional practice. She seeks to reconcile the disjuncture between the benevolent promise of the asylum model and its ultimate failure.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 18 May 2021
Publisher: Lexington Books

In her groundbreaking work, "In A Refuge of Cure or Care: The Sensory Dimensions of Confinement at the Worcester State Hospital for the Insane," Madeline Kearin Ryan delves into the therapeutic model of the nineteenth-century asylum. The belief in the five senses as a direct pathway to a person's mental state led to the notion that the curative power of the hospital resided in its control over sensory experience. Ryan meticulously examines how the institution was meticulously designed to target each of the five senses as a therapeutic approach, and conversely, how this well-intentioned design inadvertently manifested in the chaotic realm of institutional practice. By undertaking this analysis, Ryan aims to bridge the gap between the benevolent promise of the asylum model and its eventual failure, capturing the intricate power dynamics and diverse characteristics of the actors within the institution.

The Worcester State Hospital for the Insane, a nineteenth-century asylum, was designed to target the five senses as a mode of therapy. This well-intentioned design aimed to reconcile the disjuncture between the benevolent promise of the asylum model and its ultimate failure. Ryan examines how the institution was designed to target each of the five senses as a mode of therapy, and how this well-intentioned design inadvertently manifested in the chaotic realm of institutional practice. By undertaking this analysis, Ryan aims to bridge the gap between the benevolent promise of the asylum model and its eventual failure, capturing the intricate power dynamics and diverse characteristics of the actors within the institution.

The Worcester State Hospital for the Insane was designed to target the five senses as a mode of therapy, with the belief that the curative force of the hospital resided in its control over sensory experience. Ryan examines how the institution was designed to target each of the five senses as a therapeutic approach, and how this well-intentioned design inadvertently manifested in the chaotic realm of institutional practice. By undertaking this analysis, Ryan aims to bridge the gap between the benevolent promise of the asylum model and its eventual failure, capturing the intricate power dynamics and diverse characteristics of the actors within the institution.

Weight: 478g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793643810