Patients in Mental Hospitals

Producer Bob Park and reporter Donald Herbert visit a mental health institution in Manteno, Illinois. They interview patients, therapists, administrators, and public health officials to describe the inner workings of the one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the United States, Manteno State Hospital. This is part two of two (the other is 150114).
Produced by the Chicago Industrial Health Association


This episode is a continuation of the previous weeks "Report from Manteno." Manteno State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in the greater Chicago Area.

Ben Park begins by describing Manteno - the fact that they don't have straight jackets or padded cells - and its patients and their treatments.

Don Herbert begins his portion by describing a treatment in which a group of women are dancing. Most of them look normal to Herbert. He talks to a recreational therapist in charge who describes first working with the group 5 years earlier, when the women had little control of themselves. She talks about how even the most simple tasks were impossible at first, but eventually were able to get them to dance. She claims many women had been discharged after being helped by Manteno and its employees.

Ben Park chimes in, telling us that the secret is in trying to make contact with reality.

Herbert speaks with one of the male inmates, who recounts his experiences in the hospital, including the "rhythm band." The rhythm band is about to meet. On this day it comprises 56 men with varying degrees of participation and sanity. The goal is to reconnect the men to reality through music and cooperation. Herbert provides running commentary throughout.

Herbert moves on to the game room where men and women are partnered up to play games together. Herbert again provides running commentary. He meets a woman, Mary, who lives most of her life with her eyes closed, but who must keep them open when participating in the games. Herbert speaks with Mary about her inability to open up her eyes.

Park returns to ask how the patients got to where they are now, and why there are not more preventive efforts to stave off mental illness. Herbert goes to the Illinois State Department of Public Welfare to inquire. The SPDW director argues that there is not enough funding to do so. He then goes through some of the costs.
Herbert then talks to a man who was about to be discharged to see how well his treatment had gone. He talks about how he found himself in the hospital, and what kind of treatments he received, which included electroshock therapy and singing.
Park talks about the types of therapies received by patients at Manteno. Herbert provides running commentary on an exercise that the women were undertaking.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

WNYC archives id: 150112
Municipal archives id: LT1972