A more humane approach appeared, but still aimed to normalise and control.
Kindness entered the institution, but control stayed in charge.
Moral treatment was a reform movement that tried to treat people in psychiatric distress with more dignity. It emphasised removing chains, creating calmer environments, offering meaningful activity and treating people more humanely.
The York Retreat in England became an important example of this approach.
Compared with brutal confinement, moral treatment was a real improvement. It showed that environment, dignity and human treatment mattered.
But it still had limits. The goal was often to restore reason, order and acceptable behaviour. People who could not be normalised could still be treated as failures.
This is a useful warning. Even kind systems can become controlling if the aim is only to make people fit.
Support should not mean making someone easier for the system to tolerate. Support should mean helping the person live with dignity.