treatment history
Employment & occupational therapy

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‘the whole secret of the new system...may be summed up in two words, kindness and occupation’

Dr W A F Browne, Superintendent of Montrose Royal Asylum, 1837

Active employment of patients was a key feature of the regime in the reforming asylums of the early 19th century. At Dundee Royal, patients in the 1820s could play cards, read, draw, sew and knit. In the 1830s, weaving, tailoring, shoemaking and the manufacture of mattresses
and doormats were all practiced in the asylum. By 1874, 89% of patients were reported as either engaged in ‘industrial’ tasks or able to join in general activities.

Occupational therapy as a treatment was popularised in the 1920s and in 1931 special Occupational Therapy workshops were opened at Liff with patients making items for commercial sale. In the 1960s a modernised suite of workshops was provided - used by day-patients as well as residents - this facility lasted until the 2001 closure.

The move to Liff increased the opportunity for outdoor work,
as the new hospital had gardens and its own farms. A commercial farm continued until the 1970s.

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