The impact of the decline in moral treatment on leisure occupations in the Criminal Lunatic Asylum from 1890-1910.

Background: The views of Moral therapy were introduced into lunatic asylums in the 19th century. In 1850, The Central Criminal Lunatic Asylum (CCLA) opened in Dublin as the first forensic psychiatric hospital in Europe (Now called ‘The Central Mental Hospital’).The foundations of the profession of occupational therapy and moral treatment have been well established (Peloquin 1989). Towards the last quarter of the 19h century, the concept of moral treatment declined and this impacted on the availability of leisure occupations in asylums. Objectives: To explore the Inspectors in Lunacy Reports on the CCLA from 1890-1910. To identify how the decline in moral treatment during this period affected the opportunity for patients to engage in leisure occupations. To identify what leisure occupations patients continued to participate in. Methods: Historical documentary research methods were used to gather data from the Inspectorate in Lunacy Reports from 1890-1910. The documents were analysed thematically (Braun and Clarke 2006) and explored how the decline in moral treatment impacted on patients’ leisure occupations. Results: The decline in moral treatment in the latter part of the 19th Century resulted in diminished opportunity for patients to engage in leisure occupations. Despite this, the reports revealed patients continued to enjoy a variety of leisure occupations including sports, reading, religion, concerts and music. Conclusions: The therapeutic use of occupation remained important in promoting positive health and well-being at the CCLA despite the demise in moral therapy. The benefits of en-gaging individuals in meaningful and purposeful occupations remain core beliefs in Occupa-tional Therapy today.