The Islamic golden age gave us the first ever psychiatric ward.

Built in Baghdad, Iraq

A thread

Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (Rhazes) was a 9th century Persian physician who contributed to many fields in medicine... including psychiatry.

He believed in the mind and body being separate in terms of both needing care in order to attain complete health.

So when Al-Razi was made head of the next hospital to be built in Baghdad- the concept of a psychiatric ward was introduced.

Treatment for patients presenting with mental illness included diet changes, medication, occupational therapy, music therapy and many more.

Al- Razi also wrote a book looking at the common mental illnesses at the time- outlining the symptoms as well as differential diagnoses and treatment.

This was said to make him one of the first physicians to outline the idea of psychotherapy.

However what was also prominent about Al- Razi was his emphasis on compassion and being understanding to these patients on the ward.

He emphasised In his work that physicians should be modest, gently and soft spoken and communicate on a personal level with them.

As part of the discharge plan for these patients- they were given money to help with the transition outside the hospital. This is said to be the first recorded reference to psychiatric aftercare.

So even today his emphasis on compassion and encouragement to patients with any type of illness can be valuable to all physicians today :)

For these reasons and many more he is said by some to be the father of psychotherapy.

https://twitter.com/simplysimra/status/1283942935852195841?s=21 https://twitter.com/simplysimra/status/1283942935852195841

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Zakariya_al-Razi
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2018.130905