Spring Break
A glimpse into a 'crazy' history
Sabari Pillai
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 1
An old psychiatric hospital sounds like the setting for a horror movie.
But on Saturday, Oct. 6, Psi Chi, the fraternity for psychology majors and minors, and the UMKC Psychology Club took a trip to Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Mo.
The museum currently sits adjacent to a prison, but it was once located in a ward of the St. Joseph State hospital known as State Lunatic Asylum #2.
The original museum was founded in 1967 by George Glore who worked his entire life for the Missouri mental health system.
Today, the museum houses hundreds of artifacts from the old ward in St. Joseph and a few from other mental hospitals in the state. They range from an artistic arrangement of 1,446 items swallowed by a single patient and recovered during surgery from her stomach and intestines, to old farming equipment used on the grounds of the asylum.
The museum also contains a collection of instruments that detail the progression of psychiatric treatment, such as the "tranquillizer chair" used in electroconvulsive therapy machines.
Students enjoyed the trip to the hospital.
"It added to the interest in psychology that I have always had, and the museum gave me a great deal of respect for psychiatric treatments nowadays," said Meridith Burton, a freshman in the Institute for Urban Education.
The novelty of early psychiatric treatments was another part of the trip the students liked.
"I think my favorite part of the event was seeing the barbarity of the early psychiatric treatments, and how it was not really based on science. But I don't think I would go back," said Josie Tyrer, president of the Psychology Club. "It is just more of a personal decision, but I think it is eye-opening and interesting."
Sarah Breier, president of Psi Chi on campus, had a different take on the museum.
"I would definitely go back; it's great to add a physical aspect to [the history of psychology] that is usually summarized in one chapter of our textbooks," she said.
Breier was also happy to see how many people came on the trip.
"This was definitely our largest turn-out for an event; I think what made the difference this year was the advertising we have done. The club has been open to everyone, but this year it has been my mission to get more people involved," she said.
To find more information about the museum go to www.stjoesephmuseum.org/glore.php.
Anyone interested in psychology can go to an interactive presentation by a prison psychologist on life in a prison and criminal psychology.
The event will be 6-8 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Hyde Park Room of the Administrative Center. The event is open to everyone.
sabaripillai@umkc.edu
But on Saturday, Oct. 6, Psi Chi, the fraternity for psychology majors and minors, and the UMKC Psychology Club took a trip to Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Mo.
The museum currently sits adjacent to a prison, but it was once located in a ward of the St. Joseph State hospital known as State Lunatic Asylum #2.
The original museum was founded in 1967 by George Glore who worked his entire life for the Missouri mental health system.
Today, the museum houses hundreds of artifacts from the old ward in St. Joseph and a few from other mental hospitals in the state. They range from an artistic arrangement of 1,446 items swallowed by a single patient and recovered during surgery from her stomach and intestines, to old farming equipment used on the grounds of the asylum.
The museum also contains a collection of instruments that detail the progression of psychiatric treatment, such as the "tranquillizer chair" used in electroconvulsive therapy machines.
Students enjoyed the trip to the hospital.
"It added to the interest in psychology that I have always had, and the museum gave me a great deal of respect for psychiatric treatments nowadays," said Meridith Burton, a freshman in the Institute for Urban Education.
The novelty of early psychiatric treatments was another part of the trip the students liked.
"I think my favorite part of the event was seeing the barbarity of the early psychiatric treatments, and how it was not really based on science. But I don't think I would go back," said Josie Tyrer, president of the Psychology Club. "It is just more of a personal decision, but I think it is eye-opening and interesting."
Sarah Breier, president of Psi Chi on campus, had a different take on the museum.
"I would definitely go back; it's great to add a physical aspect to [the history of psychology] that is usually summarized in one chapter of our textbooks," she said.
Breier was also happy to see how many people came on the trip.
"This was definitely our largest turn-out for an event; I think what made the difference this year was the advertising we have done. The club has been open to everyone, but this year it has been my mission to get more people involved," she said.
To find more information about the museum go to www.stjoesephmuseum.org/glore.php.
Anyone interested in psychology can go to an interactive presentation by a prison psychologist on life in a prison and criminal psychology.
The event will be 6-8 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Hyde Park Room of the Administrative Center. The event is open to everyone.
sabaripillai@umkc.edu
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