On The Treatment of Insanity, Particularly the Moral Treatment by HALFORD, Sir Henry - nd. ca. 1833

nd. ca. 1833. Very good. Pages 30-52. 18 cm. Disbound. Cover loosening a little at top of spine. A little darkening to rear cover.

A paper read at the Royal College of Physicians, January 28, 1833. Sir Henry Halford was the senior physician involved with the care of King George III in the king's later years when he had succumbed to "madness," possibly due to porphria but also possibly due to bipolar disorder. Educated at Rugby, Oxford and Edinburgh, Halford practised in London from 1792. In 1809 he was consulted about the last fatal illness of George's favourite daughter, Princess Amelia, and was later physician to various members of the royal family. An able deplomat and politician, he was president of the Royal College of Physicians of London from 1820 to 1844. As a "mad doctor," or early psychiatrist, Halford recognized and understood mental illness better than other doctors of his time period. This speech does not mention the royal family but concentrates on the horror an individual experiences when going mad, the apparent causes, and what treatment might be suitable. For example, Halford commented on the beneficial effects of music and religion for mental patients: "Music, without exercising the attention severely, has the power, however, to fix it..." (pp.38-39); "Another most efficient resource, if it can be introduced safely, is the study of the Holy Scriptures" (p. 42).