Gasps could be heard from a crowd of more than 200 people Sunday evening at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center as pictures portrayed the lives of former patients at Willard Psychiatric Hospital.
The pictures were part of a lecture by Darby Penney, author and co-curator of “The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic,” on display at the Cayuga Museum of History and Art.
Black and white images of the patients' sunken eyes and grim faces portrayed a hopeless world full of endless treatment and medication that would often leave them in worse condition than when they originally arrived. For most of these people, Willard was not their last hope at a healthy life, it was their last stop.
Willard was a state run institute built to take care of mentally ill patients who were labeled as incurable.
“This was meant to call people's attention to their stories,” Penney said, speaking about the patients held at Willard. “They were forgotten by society. They were nameless faces. By putting a face and a back story people could relate to the (patients) as a human beings instead of a stereotype.”
Penney, who throughout her career has heard many stereotypical comments which classified the mentally ill as being poor or stupid, said the two main patients in her lecture were well educated and had stable jobs before they had problems.
Pictures of Madeline Cartron's suitcases showed fancy clothes, books on philosophy, literature and political theory along with pictures of various French classes she taught in New York City and parties she attended at various Westchester County mansions.
Cartron was seeking help for a condition she believed allowed her to read people's minds when she was tricked into going to a psychiatric hospital in 1931.
“She was under the impression she was going to meet doctors studying psychiatric phenomenon, but instead she was locked into a ward and mocked,” Penney said. “She was highly incensed. She had a clear sense of herself. She kept saying she wanted to go back to Manhattan and teach.”
Tracy Murphy, director of Options for Independence, an advocate group for people with disabilities, said an underlying theme of the lecture was people needed to have a choice on the treatment they received.
“Anyone whose involved with civil rights sometimes sees the inadequacies in the system,” Murphy said. “There's a belief that everyone has the right to live their life as they see fit.”
But Cartron never had that choice. Cartron, who may not have been as mentally ill as doctors believed, was forced to take new medication with neurological side effects which resembled Parkinson's Disease.
The permanent side effects caused Cartron's face to become distorted into grimaces that she couldn't control. As a result doctors made a leap of logic and upped her dosage believing the side effects meant her treatment was working, Penney said.
An underlying problem with state institutions, Penney said, was their reliance on medication to treat the symptoms and not the problem.
“There is such a reliance on medication. The people ask what's wrong with you, not what happened to you.” Penney said. “Around 75 to 90 percent of the most seriously diagnosed women are survivors of abuse, but that doesn't figure into their treatment.”
Another Willard patient in the exhibit was a Nazi slave camp survivor, Penney said. But his issues stemming from his experiences were never addressed after he was admitted into the hospital.
“The exhibit is very thought provoking,” said Eileen McHugh, director of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art.
“What we as a society do with the mentally ill effects everyone - the patients, the staff and even society who pay money and taxes for the state,” she said.
The traveling exhibit, which some people said shows an alternate view of mental history in New York, will remain at the Cayuga Museum until April 20.
“This history is embarrassing to the state's mental health system,” Penney said. “People say history is told by the winner. These people are the losers but their stories still need to be told.”
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
Black and white images of the patients' sunken eyes and grim faces portrayed a hopeless world full of endless treatment and medication that would often leave them in worse condition than when they originally arrived. For most of these people, Willard was not their last hope at a healthy life, it was their last stop.
Willard was a state run institute built to take care of mentally ill patients who were labeled as incurable.
“This was meant to call people's attention to their stories,” Penney said, speaking about the patients held at Willard. “They were forgotten by society. They were nameless faces. By putting a face and a back story people could relate to the (patients) as a human beings instead of a stereotype.”
Penney, who throughout her career has heard many stereotypical comments which classified the mentally ill as being poor or stupid, said the two main patients in her lecture were well educated and had stable jobs before they had problems.
Pictures of Madeline Cartron's suitcases showed fancy clothes, books on philosophy, literature and political theory along with pictures of various French classes she taught in New York City and parties she attended at various Westchester County mansions.
Cartron was seeking help for a condition she believed allowed her to read people's minds when she was tricked into going to a psychiatric hospital in 1931.
“She was under the impression she was going to meet doctors studying psychiatric phenomenon, but instead she was locked into a ward and mocked,” Penney said. “She was highly incensed. She had a clear sense of herself. She kept saying she wanted to go back to Manhattan and teach.”
Tracy Murphy, director of Options for Independence, an advocate group for people with disabilities, said an underlying theme of the lecture was people needed to have a choice on the treatment they received.
“Anyone whose involved with civil rights sometimes sees the inadequacies in the system,” Murphy said. “There's a belief that everyone has the right to live their life as they see fit.”
But Cartron never had that choice. Cartron, who may not have been as mentally ill as doctors believed, was forced to take new medication with neurological side effects which resembled Parkinson's Disease.
The permanent side effects caused Cartron's face to become distorted into grimaces that she couldn't control. As a result doctors made a leap of logic and upped her dosage believing the side effects meant her treatment was working, Penney said.
An underlying problem with state institutions, Penney said, was their reliance on medication to treat the symptoms and not the problem.
“There is such a reliance on medication. The people ask what's wrong with you, not what happened to you.” Penney said. “Around 75 to 90 percent of the most seriously diagnosed women are survivors of abuse, but that doesn't figure into their treatment.”
Another Willard patient in the exhibit was a Nazi slave camp survivor, Penney said. But his issues stemming from his experiences were never addressed after he was admitted into the hospital.
“The exhibit is very thought provoking,” said Eileen McHugh, director of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art.
“What we as a society do with the mentally ill effects everyone - the patients, the staff and even society who pay money and taxes for the state,” she said.
The traveling exhibit, which some people said shows an alternate view of mental history in New York, will remain at the Cayuga Museum until April 20.
“This history is embarrassing to the state's mental health system,” Penney said. “People say history is told by the winner. These people are the losers but their stories still need to be told.”
Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net
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