Philippe Pinel and the Beginnings of Psychiatry

Philippe Pinel is the “father of French psychiatry”. His major contribution to psychiatry was to depict the mentally ill as humans. He also proposed a novel categorization for mental illnesses, which lay the foundations for modern categorizations. Pinel’s pragmatism and discipline were enough to focus on the mentally ill and prepare systematic notes. Consequently, these guided him towards clinical treatment and the classification of different mental illnesses. “I can’t here avoid giving my most decided sufferage in favour of the moral qualities of maniacs. I have no where met, excepting in romances, with fonder husbands, more affectionate parents, more impassioned…