Sociopsychologic Aspects of Psychiatric Treatment in a Voluntary Mental Hospital

Abstract

The increasing studies of the sociopsychological aspects of psychiatric treatment in recent years have primarily been concerned with treatment patterns in the community,¹²private practice,²⁹and outpatient clinics.^24,28In the studies reported by Hollingshead, Redlich, and their co-workers^12,27it was found that social class was a major determinant of the type of psychiatric treatment in the New Haven community. Patients from the upper classes were more frequently treated with psychotherapy, while somatic or custodial care was commoner among the lower classes. They summarized their results by noting: “It was found that treatment does not depend on psychological and medical determinants alone, but on the status position of the patient as well.”²⁷Weinstock,²⁹reporting the results of a poll of the American Psychoanalytic Association, observed that the patients being treated by their members in private