Out of Mind, Out of Sight
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Summary

April 6, 2009: The article discusses the squalid conditions in many Third World psychiatric hospitals, where many patients are treated little better than animals. A large number of photos accompany the article.

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Game and Story Use

  • The squalid conditions of such places, together with the often deranged inmates, might qualify as nightmare fuel.
  • The PCs might have to rescue someone from such a place.
    • Or help an idealistic NPC who is trying to reform the system.
    • Or be sectioned themselves … which is pretty unpleasant even in advanced nations.
  • In previous centuries, most if not all mental institutions were like this.
  • When you play Call of Cthulhu in the modern era, this may be important.
  • Also, bear in mind that you don't necessarily need to be insane to end up in a psychiatric hospital - besides state controlled medicalisation of dissent, there is also the potential of corrupt private initiatives to get someone committed.
    • And many adventurers can get up to things that can be portrayed as dangerously insane - actually, the current version of the DSM seems to make any behaviour potentially a symptom of mental illness, but plot worthy stuff even more so.
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