Exilul psihiatric mănăstiresc şi începuturile instituţionalizării alienaţilor în Țara Românească (secolul al XIX-lea)
Monastic Psychiatric Exile and the Early Instituti onalization of the Insane in 19th Century Wallachia

Summary/Abstract: This study offers significant insights into the early history of Romanian psychiatry, particularly the initial forms of state-controlled care for the mentally ill. It demonstrates that, after 1839, the modernization of psychiatric assistance developed alongside the continued official management of insanity within religious institutions. The analysis reveals that several factors – such as the financial status of patients, the absence of dedicated facilities for wealthy individuals, the enduring belief in the spiritual origins of mental illness, the lack of a structured nosology, and the stigma that families sought to avoid – contributed to the inconsistencies and ambiguities that characterized the early stages of Romanian psychiatry. Both published and, more importantly, unpublished sources used in this study illustrate that religious care for the mentally ill persisted in a state-regulated form even after the establishment of the first public civil asylum. These findings are essential for understanding the complex framework within which individuals with mental disorders were perceived, diagnosed, institutionalized, and treated in 19th century Wallachia.

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