Out of Mind, Out of Sight

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.

See Also

• Bedlam House

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article

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.