Image: Sigmund Freud

Starting from the early age, the world of psychology and mental health has developed a lot. Psychology has attained many milestones beginning from the first psycho-surgery to the modern day scientific therapeutic approaches. This blog is a humble tribute to the pioneers in the field who dedicated their lives to bring the best of psychotherapeutic services to you, the ones who understood human mind and behavior and expanded psychology to the dimensions of usability, therapeutic ability, practical applications and worthwhile aspects. Let me take you in a tour on how the science of human behavior developed into the shape and form that you see today:

387 BC Plato became the first person to opine that brain is the main mechanism behind all mental processes.
1174 AD You have heard the word Hypnosis, right? Even before that Franz Mesmer used the term Mesmerism, kind of hypnosis to treat his patients.
1793 Before this period the ones who suffered from mental illnesses were treated in an inhuman, brutal manner. It was Philippe Pinel who first released mental patients from confinement so that they get humane and proper treatment.
1878 G. Stanley Hall became the first American to receive a PhD in Psychology.
1879 Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig, Germany opened the first experimental laboratory in Psychology.
1883 Wilhelm Wundt introduced the first Psychology lab in America.
1886 The beginning of Psychoanalytical Theory and therapy by the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud.
1890 The first institution in the US for psychiatric research was developed after New York Sate passed the State Care Act.
1892 American Psychological Association (APA) was founded by G. Stanley Hall with a membership of 42.
1895 The first laboratory for psych diagnosis was started by Alfred Binet.
1901 Foundation of the British Psychological Society.
1938 It was the first time when electric shock therapy was used on a human.
1945 Licensure for legislation for psychologists was first introduced by the State of Connecticut. It was the first to introduce and recognize psychology as a practice oriented profession that is protected and safe.
1951 The first medicine to treat depression was approved. Imipramine or Tofranil was the name of the drug.
1952 The APA published the first DSM i.e. the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
1961 John Berry brought cross-cultural diversity of research-its necessity in research and application to light.
1974 The Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scanner) is tested for the first time. It gives clear brain images and mapping.
2000 16 public research institutions around the world framed mapping of human genetic code for understanding human development and diseases.
2010 The APA distributed a draft of the DSM-5 for comment and critique.
2013 The DSM – 5 was published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
2013 The 10-year BRAIN INITIATIVE was announced by the US President Barack Obama to map the activity of every neuron in the human brain.

So folks! This was a brief presentation of how things in Psychology and therapy have developed since their inception many years ago. Researchers and developers, scientists, doctors and clinicians are trying their level best to study the highest, deepest and subtle aspects of human brain and behavior so as to help you attain psychological well being and balance.

“Life is a continuous journey of transformation” – Sukant Ratnakar, Open the Windows

Best wishes,

Sareeta