Psychosurgery in the United Kingdom, 1940-1986

Abstract

This thesis addresses the absence of a general British history of psychosurgery, other than a handful of short studies of institutions such as North Wales Hospital in Denbigh which may not be representative of the broader landscape of British psychosurgery. In doing so, the thesis cross-examines the British context with more fully written about countries such as America to assess, for instance, whether schizophrenia and the decision to operate on brains were as interconnected in Britain. The thesis also explores a British perception of the idea that institutional overcrowding and a desire to control patient behaviour for easier nursing played a role in therapeutic decisions to perform psychosurgery and the extent to which general societal expectations relating to gender were important. Globally, historians have identified women as having undergone significantly more procedures than men. Was this the case in Britain? Also tackled are claims that psychosurgery was used only as a last resort, and whether British families, perhaps influenced by positive media reports, began to see psychosurgical procedures as a miracle cure for their afflicted relatives. The thesis also presents Britain as an important international location for experimentation in psychosurgical techniques. The final avenue of investigation relates to the chronology of psychosurgery. Historians of psychiatry in other countries generally believe that the use of psychosurgery declined drastically (indeed, became almost non-existent) by the 1960s following the introduction of chlorpromazine. However, this thesis identifies a resurgence of psychosurgery in 1970s Britain, contrasting with other countries.

Date of Award	Jun 2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Ian Miller (Supervisor) & Kyle Hughes (Supervisor)