An Overview of the History of PsychiatryObjective: An examination of early practices in the treatment of mental illness.Objectives:1. Identify early treatments and protocols as documented throughout history.2. Understand historical stigmas and terminology related to mental illness.3. Awareness of the progress of treatment of the mentally ill. The oldest known history of psychiatry. Unearthed skulls dating back to 6,500 BCE have been discovered by archaeologists with large holes drilled into their sides. (1) The purpose of the drilling was to release the demonic spirits that reigned inside these unfortunate beings. (2) It was thought at the time that strange, disruptive, or inexplicable behaviors exhibited by individuals were a direct result of demons controlling the person's soul. These behaviors were not considered a medical problem of any kind, but primarily related to poor morals. There are biblical references that Jesus cast out demons in those who exhibited irrational or crazy behavior. Of course, there are also biblical references describing manic behavior that Jesus also cured and it was thought that these individuals were simply sick. The term used to describe this surgical procedure is trepanation or trepanation. Reference has also been made to burr holes. Trepanation is considered the oldest surgical procedure that can be validated by archaeologists. (1) It is also believed to be the first attempt to reign in unruly or deviant behavior. Mental illness was an unknown at that time. The dominant idea of ​​the time was that these individuals were ruled by evil spirits. Hippocrates approved of trepanation, writing explicit instructions on how to perform the operation. This d...... middle of paper ......rving, Jenni. May 1, 2013 www.Ancient.eu.com May 1, 2013 Trephination2. Brothwell, Don R., (1963) Digging up bones, excavation, processing and study of human skeletal remains. British Museum of Natural History, London.3. Arnott, Robert, Finger, Stanley, Smith, Chris (2005) History of trepanation, discovery, Taylor & Francis theory and library.4 Shorter, Edward. (1997) A History of Psychiatry: From the Age of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac John Wiley & Sons, Inc. USA3.5. DesRochers, Alyssa March 29, 2012, www.Siarchives.si.edu6. Tuchman, Barbara. (1978) A Distant Mirror: A Calamitous Random Publication of the 14th Century.7. Roth, Martin. & Kroll, Jérôme (1986) The reality of mental illness. Cambridge University Press8. Szasz, Thomas. (1974) The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct Harper Paperback, New York, NY