What REALLY Helps People with Mental Health Issues

In an era when psychiatric treatment often meant forced hospitalization and heavy medications, two radically compassionate movements stood apart: The Soteria Project of the 1970s and the Quaker-run asylums of the 1800s. Though separated by centuries, both share a groundbreaking belief—that people experiencing mental distress can heal through kindness, dignity, and community, not coercion or chemicals.

The Soteria Project: A Radical Experiment in Healing

In the early 1970s, psychiatrist Dr. Loren Mosher launched the Soteria Project in San Jose, California, as a bold alternative to traditional psychiatric hospitalization. Soteria was a home-like residence for young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis. What made it revolutionary?

• No antipsychotic medications were used initially.

• Staff were non-clinical, often peers trained to offer support rather than control.

• Residents were treated as people in crisis, not as patients with a disease.

• The environment prioritized calm, empathy, and connection.

The results were remarkable. Studies have shown that many participants performed as well—or even better—than those in traditional hospitals without the long-term use of medication. The Soteria Project proved that compassionate relationships could be therapeutic in themselves.

📘 “We found that people could recover from schizophrenia without the use of drugs, and without the need for locked wards or seclusion.”— Loren Mosher, MD (Mosher, 1999)

The Quakers and Moral Treatment in the 1800s

Nearly two centuries earlier, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were already putting these values into practice. In 1796, Quakers in York, England, founded The York Retreat, a facility for people with mental illness that rejected the cruel practices of the time—such as chaining, bleeding, or isolation.

Instead, they offered what they called “moral treatment,” which included:

• Kindness and respect for residents

• Pleasant surroundings, including gardens and common areas

• Opportunities for meaningful work and recreation

• Minimal use of restraints or medications

This approach spread throughout Europe and the U.S., influencing a wave of reform in mental health care. Quaker-run facilities emphasized the importance of seeing the person, not just the illness—a radical idea in the age of asylums.

What We Can Learn Today

Both the Soteria Project and the Quaker retreat movement show us that human connection is a powerful medicine. They remind us that mental health recovery is possible in environments that offer safety, autonomy, and respect.

As modern systems continue to grapple with over-reliance on medication and institutional care, these historical examples offer a blueprint for more humane, person-centered mental health support.

Sometimes, the best treatment isn’t found in a pill bottle—it’s found in being seen, heard, and treated like a human being.

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References:

• Mosher, L. R. (1999). Soteria and other alternatives to acute psychiatric hospitalization: A personal and professional review. Retrieved from moshersoteria.com

• Bola, J. R., & Mosher, L. R. (2002). At issue: Predicting drug-free treatment response in acute psychosis from the Soteria project. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 28(3), 559–575.

• Digby, A. (1985). Madness, Morality, and Medicine: A Study of the York Retreat, 1796–1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Borthwick, A., et al. (2001). The relevance of moral treatment to contemporary mental health care. Journal of Mental Health, 10(4), 427–439.