• 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

About the Project

In 1970 the London Psychiatric Hospital opened a new facility where an Archival and Teaching Museum was first established. This building is now known as St. Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care London (RMHCL). As a reflection of the pride and dedication of the staff of RMHCL, the museum preserved precious archival materials, artifacts, and the history of the institution. The collection has provided a valuable educational resource for residency psychology programs and health care professionals. RMHCL is evolving once again to accommodate the future of specialized mental health care by moving to a new facility at Parkwood Hospital. In order to ensure the collection receives continued care and recognition as an important part in the history of mental health care in London, RMHCL has generously decided to donate its photographic and archival collection to the Archival and Research Collections Centre at the University Western Ontario and the artifacts to Museum London.

Between January and May 2009, part of the RMHCL collection was on display to the public at Museum London in their exhibit Cultivating Care. In collaboration with Museum London and RMHCL, UWO students from the Public History program designed this digital exhibit to complement the Museum London display and maintain the RMHCL vision that inspired the creation of the original Teaching Museum. Restoring Perspective: Life & Treatment at London's Asylum examines perspectives on mental health care between 1870 and 1940 with emphasis on the evolution of mental health care in London. 

This project has been made possible through the use of materials from all aforementioned organizations. Digitized documents, photos, and objects are courtesy of:

• St. Joseph's Regional Mental Healthcare, London (RMCHL)
• The University of Western Ontario Archives (Western Archives)
• The Museum London Collection, donated by Regional Mental Health Care London, (Museum London Collection)

Public History Student Contributors:
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.