The treatment of mentally ill people began in the distant past. In 400 BC, Hippocrates, who was a Greek physician, treated mental illness as illnesses related to disturbed physiology, not displeasure of the gods or demonic possession ("Timeline: Treatments for"). Greek medical authors found treatments such as calm, occupation, and the use of a purgative medicine called hellebore (“Timeline: Treatments for”). During these periods, family members took care of the mentally ill (“Timeline: Treatments for,” ). In the Middle Ages, Europeans gave freedom to the mentally ill, provided they were not dangerous (“Timeline: Treatments for”). The mentally ill were also considered witches possessed by demons (“Timeline: Treatments for”). for,"). In 1407, the first institution for the mentally ill was established in Valencia, Spain ("Timeline: Treatments for"). In the 1600s, Europeans began to isolate the mentally ill, where they were kept with the disabled and delinquents (“Timeline: Treatments”). Mentally ill people who were considered insane were treated cruelly, often chained to walls and kept apart in dungeons ("Chronology: Treatments for,"). In the late 1700s, after the French Revolution, French doctor Phillippe Pinel took over the Bicêtre insane asylum and changed its rules ("Timeline: Treatments"). He banned the use of chains, took patients out of dungeons, gave them sunny rooms, and let them roam the floor for exercise ("Timeline: Treatments for", ) Although Pinel changed Bicêtre's rules , mistreatment still persisted in other places in Europe (“Timeline: Treatments for”). In the 1840s, Dorothea Dix observed the mentally ill in Massachusetts and saw how cruelly they were treated ("Timeline: Treatments... middle of paper... sick ally. I went into the field to help those who needed it I only hope that once others are better informed, they will want to help others as I do Works Cited Areehart-Treichel, J. (2013). of mental illness. Public Attitudes Toward People with Mental Illness, 11(3), 186-196. Kobau, R., Zack, MM, Manderscheid, R., Palpant, RG, Morales, DS, Luncheon, C., et. al. (2005). Attitudes towards mental illness. CDC. Lieberman, J. A. (2003). History of antidepressant use in primary care. Psychiatrist. Olley, B.O. and Kola, L. (2005). The British Journal of Psychiatry. Community study on knowledge and attitude towards mental illness in Nigeria. Our story. (nd). Mental Health America. Timeline: Treatments for mental illness. (nd). PBS.