Work as therapy in Irish district asylums: 1850 - 1880

Background: There is a dearth of research in relation to the Irish history of occupational therapy. Moral treatment and in turn work therapy in asylums, is widely acknowledged to have led to the materialisation of the discipline of occupational therapy (Hall 2013). This study looked at work as therapy in the Irish District Asylums, between 1850 and 1880 as documented by the Inspectors of Lunacy. Objective: To explore the Inspectors of Lunacy Reports on the District Asylums during the period 1850-1880 and ascertain the Inspectors perception of the use of work. Methods: As part of a larger research project, historical documentary research was used to glean data from the annual, Inspectors of Lunacy Reports, between 1850 and 1880. Data was analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006) and coding focused solely on reference to patient work. Findings: The terms work, employment, labour and occupation were used interchangeably .Three themes arose: Forms of work, “curative” work and “unwholesome” work. The Inspectors saw doing and being occupied, as therapeutic and “curative”. These “useful occupations” included recreation, going to church, attending school and being employed. Work was largely viewed as curative and therapeutic whilst on the other hand the working conditions were criticised as “unwholesome”. Conclusion: This research demonstrates that the Inspectors saw value in being dutifully employed and it is clear that there has been consistent attention on the importance of doing. This attention sustained to modern occupational therapy where doing and use of work remains core to the ethos.