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(scratchy audio)

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(music)

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(male voice)

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Christmas time, the holidays is this the

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way they end for me, here in this place?

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A "mental hospital" they call it. Huh.

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That's a fancy name that is, but I knowa

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better, the "Bug House". A place where

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they'll lock you up and then throw away the key.

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And now they've go me too. Me, Fred Clanton.

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Fred Clanton, Fred Clanton. Is that really

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my name? Oh, everything's so mixed up.

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These grounds, these buildings, they're

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all so dark. Everything's dark, even the sky.

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I'll never get out. That George. He's turned them

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all against me. Even Betty. They keep

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talking about me. Why won't they let me alone?

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Oh my god, oh no, don't let them take me

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in there. I'll never get out. Oh god, what will

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happen to me now?

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(male voice)

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Narrator: What will happen to Fred now?

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What happens to all of them? The men and

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women from every walk of life who each

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year pass through doors like this. Into the

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mental hospitals of our land. Here, in the story,

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of Fred Clanton and the typical

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Oklahoma State Hospital to which he

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came, the spotlight focuses on these people.

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Many patients are old and often theirs is

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a tragedy of hospitals such as this. The tragedy

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of fathers and mothers too old to work,

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rejected by their own children.

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Classed as senile and committed to mental

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hospitals because there's nowhere else for them

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to go. Yet, given proper care, they can still adjust.

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Make new friends to ease the passing of years.

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Some patients are disturbed, unable to care

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for themselves in normal life situations.

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Others are physically, as well as mentally, ill.

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Many are capable of limited adjustment. Able

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to work at varied tasks within the hospital.

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There's the veteran, returned from years of

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service over seas. The farmer, who had never set

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foot outside of his home county until he came

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here. Deterioration, chronic conditions, limit hope

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for some. Others, may go home tomorrow.

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Meanwhile they are living here. 3,200 men and women

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all gather together in a modern mental institution.

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A city in itself, complete with every facility

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for effective treatment. Though shortages in

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hospital personnel do exist, patients are secure

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and comfortable and most of them are happy.

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But while mere custodial care can never be enough,

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a favorable environment and human comforts

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are essential in any therapeutic system.

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For most, meals are served cafeteria style. Food is

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plentiful and good, an investment in patient health.

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Just baking the bread for 3,000 people is a man-sized job.

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Above all though, these kitchen chores offer patients

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work. The therapy of "busy hands".

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The laundry, more chances for patients to focus

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on specific realities outside themselves. First step

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along the road that leads to recovery and release.

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The patients tell you the power plant smoke stack is

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525 feet tall. They seem to take a personal pride

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in it. Maybe because power is so important here.

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The sick must have heat and light. There's water to be

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pumped and food cooked, and laundry washed.

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Patients must be housed and today's new hospital

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buildings center on human needs and comfort.

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Whether they provide living quarters or treatment

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facilities, whether they are there for convalescence,

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old people, the tubercular, veterans, or occupational

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therapy, these modern structures are part of

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a long range, integrated plan to improve conditions

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for all who live within these grounds.

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Special units provide homes for nurses and attendants.

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For they too play a vital role in helping patients to regain

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health. In addition to the regular staff, student nurses come

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here to learn to recognize and care for the mentally ill.

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There are lakes for fishing.

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The hospital farm cuts operating costs, provides

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fresh truck and dairy products. And the familiar

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scenes, the work, help make patients from rural

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areas feel at home.

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They come from all sorts of homes, these patients.

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All kinds of backgrounds. But somewhere along the line,

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life became too much for them. Some apply for

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voluntary admission to the hospital. 1 of the 3 procedures

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by which residents may enter a state mental institution in

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Oklahoma. Many former patients return of their own free will

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when new troubles assail them. All applicants for voluntary

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admission are held a minimum of 15 days for examination

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before they may be released.

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Other patients are certified for admission by two

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competent medical examiners. This is the second method by

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which patients enter the hospital under the terms of

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Oklahoma's mental health law.

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The majority, however, come by court order.

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Committed either by a judge or a 6 man jury.

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This was the case with Fred Clanton.

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Judge: Fred Planton? Oh yes, how are you Fred?

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Fred: Well I'd be alright if they'd just let me alone.

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Judge: Well, why don't you tell me about it?

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Fred: You can't fool me. I know you're in with them too.

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Judge: Fred, I'm going to send you to the hospital.

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And if you will cooperate with those doctors

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I think they'll be able to do you some good.

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Narrator: The admitting clerk records Fred's case history

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as soon as he enters the hospital. Takes care of valuables

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until he has sufficiently improved to be trusted with them.

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Escorted to the receiving ward by an attendant, he's

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bathed and outfitted.

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He gets a blood test. Part of the medical examination given

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each patient on admission. There is a chest x-ray also.

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And a spinal fluid test.

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Finally comes the neuro-psychiatric check. Designed to bring

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out data related to the patient's mental disorder.

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Fred: They're turning my wife, you know, Betty, against me.

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They're taking up all of her time.

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Psychiatrist: Why do you think they are doing you this way?

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Fred: Well, I've been working on this for years.

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They don't know it but I'm on to them. You see?

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If they can just get Betty to team up with them, then

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they'll all fight again together.

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A clinical psychologist gives Fred a variety of

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specialized tests. In order to make possible a more

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accurate evaluation of his total personality.

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Following the examination and testing, an informal

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meeting of the hospital staff arrives at a tentative

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diagnosis of Schizophrenia, paranoid type. Fred

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benefits from the skill and experience of all members

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of the staff as well as the psychiatrist to whose care he

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has assigned.

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(music)

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Diagnosis and staff approval completed, the patient is transferred

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to a treatment ward for therapy.

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In Fred's case, insulin shock is prescribed.

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A common treatment for Schizophrenia.

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Electroshock therapy may be recommended for other disorders.

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Hydrotherapy is useful in calming disturbed patients.

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So are sedative packs.

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But whatever the mode of treatment, it's essential

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that it be supplemented by an atmosphere of

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security and calm. The effective hospital must always

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serve as a refuge for its patients. A place where they can

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live quietly, during that period of reorientation in

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which they learn how to achieve a better adjustment

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to the world outside.

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Degree of adjustment, the level of orientation varies

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sharply from patient to patient.

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Some show a complete loss of contact with

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reality. Dark shadows across disordered minds.

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In other wards, are light in life. A return from

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private worlds to the here and now.

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As patients improve they are moved to wards

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in keeping with their condition. They are given

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the opportunity for contact with others who are also

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getting better. Shown that their status as

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individuals is recognized. That no matter what their

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problem, there still is hope.

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In Fred's case, Insulin Therapy, brought relatively

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quick improvement. Close linked with it, helping

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further, was personal follow up attention by the

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psychiatrist directing his treatment and care.

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Occupational therapy reinforces shock treatment,

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helped Fred to draw away from his feelings of

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antagonism and suspicion and move closer to reality.

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Boredom is always an enemy of the mentally ill.

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Now improving, Fred begins to take increasing interest in

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the wide variety of recreational facilities.

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Patients enjoy movies just as much as anyone.

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And a hot game of dominoes, or pool, or ping pong

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is always fun.

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The sewing room is popular and a permanent wave

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may serve as a mile stone of self-respect for many

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women in spite of the bubble gum.

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Books mean so much to so many.

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Improvement brings added privileges,

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a more normal life.

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What could be better than an afternoon softball game?

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Friday dances give Fred a chance for contact with

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women on a social plane. Help to spark his dormant pride.

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Religious services and the chapel offer inspiration.

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Then, there's the happy day when Fred is granted

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grounds privileges.

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Fred: Fine doctor. As a matter of fact I feel like

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going back to work.

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Doctor: Well, uh, you have to stay around the hospital

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for a few days, maybe we can find something

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for you to do here?

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Fred: Oh?

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Doctor: How would you like to help us out

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around the hospital here?

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Fred: I don't know whether there's much

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I can do or not.

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Doctor: We have quite a few jobs that, uh, you could,

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might do. For example, you might, uh, work up the

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dairy, might help out in the garden, or you might, uh,

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work over in the cafeteria or we might even

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be able to get you on the ground crew.

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Fred: Ground crew?

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Doctor: Yes sir.

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Fred: I'd like that a lot, I really would.

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Doctor: Well that's swell. You just report out there

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in the morning and everything will be alright.

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Fred: In the morning?

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Doctor: Yes sir.

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Narrator: What a difference it makes. At last

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Fred can be outside once more, working, enjoying

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the sun and the seasons.

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There are the days when visitors come. The chance

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to talk again with Betty. And George comes too.

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And now, somehow, he doesn't seem quite as bad

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as he did before.

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It's not too long til the psychiatrist decides that

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Fred can try it for a while at home. He talks

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with Betty and with George. Helps them

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to understand that they too have vital roles

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to play in aiding Fred to adjust successfully

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to the world outside.

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Then the word's passed to the switchboard to call Fred in.

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How well he looks.

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A cigarette from the doctor.

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And Fred's hand is steady.

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Packing at last. A man can be proud of the

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things he's created with his own two hands.

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And a hospital can be proud too.

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Proud to see a patient face the world as a man again.

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Fred: So this is it. Today I'm going home.

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Six months it's taken. If I'd come here sooner I might

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have been out in three. But all I could think about

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was fear. The way everyone was all against me.

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How much I hated George. How wrong I was.

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Or no, not wrong, sick. And now that I'm well again

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I can't help feeling just a little sad. The way you

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always do when you leave a place where you lived,

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learned, and grown. But I am well and I know it.

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I'm able to face the world again. My own hometown.

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(laugh) Huh, I suppose there'll be some folks

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who will stare and talk and sneer. But no matter

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what they say or do, one thing I know- these people here,

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this place and time, has given my life back to me.

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(music)