Historical aspects of clinotherapy.

Abstract

Clinotherapy or “bed rest” was first introduced as a treatment for mental illness in 1852, with the aim of inhibit the “consciousness of movement” and peripheral excitation, in order to make it possible a “psychological rest”. At the beginning, clinotherapy, along with open door and non-restraint principles, meant an alternative to seclusion rooms, straitjackets and other restrictive practices. However, over time it became a simple seclusion in a room, many times in inappropriate conditions.