A Social History of Mental Health Care in Greece, c. 1900-1920

This book examines the social and cultural meanings of mental illness and psychiatric hospitalisation in early twentieth-century Greece. Although Greek psychiatrists were trained in countries such as France and Germany and followed general European models of psychiatry, they practiced within a different economic, social and cultural context. By focusing on a country on the periphery of Europe, this book explores new dimensions of mental health care in the continent and illustrates how European theories were adapted by Greek psychiatrists.

Despo Kritsotaki presents case studies of two Greek mental health hospitals, Dromokaitio and Eginitio, both of which were situated in Athens but treated patients from all over Greece. This book explores how patients came to be admitted to the hospitals, highlighting the relationship between communities and mental health institutions and thus the interplay between society and asylum. It investigates both private and public discourses around mental illness and hospitalisation, bringing to the forefront patients, family members, state and local authorities, charitable organisations, and medical professionals. Combining multiple perspectives on psychiatric hospitalisation, this book provides a nuanced account of the history of mental illness and health care in Greece and highlights the different purposes, limitations and contradictions inherent in treating the mentally ill.