Madison Poore and Courtney Milot Dorothea Dix: Reformer for the Mentally Ill Process Paper Mental

illness is a widely discussed topic in the news today. A growing number of families share such obstacles, creating a community for support and treatment. In the midst of this increased awareness, we asked ourselves how the mental illness industry came to be the way it is today. Mental illness was originally viewed with disdain, thought to be a punishment from God or a curse from the devil. In an attempt to understand the modern world of mental illness and the elimination of related stigmas, our group stumbled upon Dorothea Dix. Our first step in the research process was a brief online search. Thanks to modern technology, we were quickly able to understand who Dorothea Dix was, and what she contributed to the modern world of psychiatry. We set out to our local libraries to understand Dix on a deeper level. One particularly helpful source, Voice For the Mad, by David Gollaher, was extremely illuminating in how it shed light upon Dixs motivations and the series of events that lead her to crusade against mistreatment of the mentally ill. Perhaps one of the most important resources in our research process was our membership at the Boston Public Library. Not only did this allow us to access JSTOR, an online database for scholarly journals, but it also allowed us to check out books to further our research. As we agreed last year, the website format is one of the best ways to collaborate as a group. The two of us can access our project remotely, and are not required to be together to work on our project. With busy and conflicting schedules, the two of us found that we could divide the work evenly and create personal deadlines. By distributing the pages between the two of us, we found that we could immerse ourselves in the content of our assigned page, fully reaping the benefits of group collaboration. As Dorothea Dix advocated for the rights of the mentally ill, her tireless work directly connects to this years theme of rights and responsibility. She served as a protector and a reformer in an attempt to change the system that failed to help others, instead assuming the responsibility to help them herself. She gave a voice to those who were unable to advocate for

themselves. Dorothea fought against the injustices she uncovered, ameliorating the faults of society, rather than concealing them as so many before her had tried. Dorothea Dix prevails as a symbol of a humanitarian, a reformer, and a revolutionary, providing a voice for those who were silenced by their own society. (Word Count: 449)