Reference: SC: Psychology
.
1st–5th century CE
- c. 50 – Aulus Cornelius Celsus died, leaving De Medicina, a medical encyclopedia; Book 3 covers mental diseases. The term insania, insanity, was first used by him. The methods of treatment included bleeding, frightening the patient, emetics, enemas, total darkness, and decoctions of poppy or henbane, and pleasant ones such as music therapy, travel, sport, reading aloud, and massage. He was aware of the importance of the doctor-patient relationship.
- c. 100 – Rufus of Ephesus believed that the nervous system was instrumental in voluntary movement and sensation. He discovered the optic chiasma by anatomical studies of the brain. He stressed taking a history of both physical and mental disorders. He gave a detailed account of melancholia, and was quoted by Galen.
- 93–138 – Soranus of Ephesus advised kind treatment in healthy and comfortable conditions, including light, warm rooms.
- c. 130–200 – Galen “was schooled in all the psychological systems of the day: Platonic, Aristotelian, Stoic, and Epicurean” He advanced medicine by offering anatomic investigations and was a skilled physician. Galen developed further the theory of temperaments suggested by Hippocrates, that people’s characters were determined by the balance among four bodily substances. He also distinguished sensory from motor nerves and showed that the brain controls the muscles.
- c. 150–200 – Aretaeus of Cappadocia
- 155–220 Tertullian
- 205–270 Plotinus wrote Enneads a systematic account of Neoplatonist philosophy, also nature of visual perception and how memory might work.
- c. 323–403 – Oribasius compiled medical writings based on the works of Aristotle, Asclepiades, and Soranus of Ephesus, and wrote on melancholia in Galenic terms.
- 345–399 – Evagrius Ponticus described a rigorous way of introspection within the early Christian monastic tradition. Through introspection, monks could acquire self-knowledge and control their stream of thought which signified potentially demonic influences. Ponticus developed this view in Praktikos, his guide to ascetic life.
- c. 390 – Nemesius wrote De Natura Hominis (On Human Nature); large sections were incorporated in Saint John Damascene‘s De Fide Orthodoxia in the eighth century. Nemesius’ book De Placitis Hippocratis et Platonis (On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato) contains many passages concerning Galen’s anatomy and physiology, believing that different cavities of the brain were responsible for different functions.
- 397–398 – St. Augustine of Hippo published Confessions, which anticipated Freud by near-discovery of the subconscious. Augustine’s most complete account of the soul is in De Quantitate Animae (The Greatness of the Soul). The work assumes a Platonic model of the soul.
- 5th century – Caelius Aurelianus opposed harsh methods of handling the insane, and advocated humane treatment.
- c. 423–529 – Theodosius the Cenobiarch founded a monastery at Kathismus, near Bethlehem. Three hospitals were built by the side of the monastery: one for the sick, one for the aged, and one for the insane.
- c. 451 – Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople: his followers dedicated themselves to the sick and became physicians of great repute. They brought the works of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen, and influenced the approach to physical and mental disorders in Persia and Arabia.
.
6th–10th century
- 625–690 – Paul of Aegina suggested that hysteria should be treated by ligature of the limbs, and mania by tying the patient to a mattress placed inside a wicker basket and suspended from the ceiling. He also recommended baths, wine, special diets, and sedatives for the mentally ill. He described the following mental disorders: phrenitis, delirium, lethargus, melancholia, mania, incubus, lycanthropy, and epilepsy
- c. 800 – The first bimaristan was built in Baghdad. By the 13th century, bimaristans grew into hospitals with specialized wards, including wards for mentally ill patients.
- c. 850 – Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari wrote a work emphasizing the need for psychotherapy.
- c. 900 – Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi urged doctors to ensure that they evaluated the state of both their patients’ bodies and souls, and highlighted the link between spiritual or mental health and overall health.
- c. 900 – al-Razi (Rhazes) promoted psychotherapy and an understanding attitude towards those with psychological distress.
.
