William Battie
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William Battie was an English physician who published, in 1758, A Treatise on Madness, a highly influential book on the use of institutionalisation and shock therapy as methods of treating mental illn
Portrait of William Battie. Wellcome M0006690
Involuntary commitment
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Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation, or informally in Great Britain sectioning, being sectioned, commitment, or being committed, is a legal process
William Battie
…Batty; 1 September 1704 – 13 June 1776) was an English physician who published, in 1758, A Treatise on Madness, a highly influential book on the use of institutionalisation and shock therapy as methods of treating mental illness. He was President of the Royal College of Physicians in 1764. Battie was born in 1704, the son…
Lord Shaftesbury, a vigorous campaigner for the reform of lunacy law in England, and the Head of the Lunacy Commission for 40 years.