Mental health as an exhibit

Difficulties with mental health are a deeply personal experience and are inherently difficult to communicate and put 'on show'. However, we can all benefit from this information. For those who have experienced difficulties with mental health, this information can help us to feel connected and to understand that we are not alone in our experience. For those who haven't experienced difficulties of their own, mental health exhibits offer the potential to increase understanding and empathy for others. 

As a practising clinical psychologist, I am interested in how we can communicate psychological information to the public, and the role of museums in this. This interest has led me to visit several mental health museums and to reflect on these experiences. Here, I will summarise the current provision of mental health museums and exhibits and explore why this is an important time to review this. I will also share my thoughts on potential areas to focus on in the future. 

I'll begin with a round-up of the most prominent mental health museums. 

Bethlem Museum of The Mind, South London

Historically known as 'Bedlam', Bethlem Royal Hospital was established in 1247. It is believed to be the world's oldest psychiatric hospital and is the location of Bethlem Museum of the Mind. 

The museum is set within the grounds of a National Health Service hospital that continues to provide mental health care today. In keeping with many psychiatric hospitals in the UK, it is set in large, secluded gardens with tall trees around the perimeter. When visiting I felt that the location allows you to connect with the patient stories included within the exhibit.

The exhibit itself was small, but well-presented and interesting. There was a strong focus on historical psychiatric care and how perspectives have developed and changed over the years. Patient stories were powerful and were sometimes accompanied with artworks produced by patients themselves.

As part of the exhibition, visitors are asked to watch a short video of a patient case study. A question about whether the patient should be allowed weekend leave is then posed. This was an engaging way to illustrate how professionals have to balance different risks, and how tricky these decisions can be. 

Museum van de Geest, The Netherlands

The Museum of the Mind in Haarlem, the Netherlands, is also a former psychiatric hospital. It is set in a peaceful spot, as psychiatric hospitals often are, alongside a river. 

The museum explores what the mind is from different perspectives, and includes elements from healthcare, science and art. It explores human stories of mental health difficulties and care. Each of the pictures and items provide thought provoking stories and explores themes such as stigma. There is a section that covers the usefulness of psychiatric diagnoses from a balanced perspective. I found it both touching and informative, which is a tricky balance to find.

At the end of the tour visitors are asked to sign a declaration to having an open mind. I found this a nice ritual to end on, having heard many stories highlighting the importance of understanding and belonging.

The Haarlem Museum is a particularly comprehensive and thoughtful example of a museum dedicated to mental health. It's no surprise to me that it won the coveted title of The European Museum of the Year Award in 2022. 

Sigmund Freud Museums, London and Vienna

Two Museums document the life and work of Sigmund Freud. The Freud Museum London was Sigmund Freud's final home after fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938. It houses his extensive collection of antiquities and his famous psychoanalytic couch. Meanwhile, the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna is located in the apartment where Freud lived and worked for 47 years before his exile. The museum showcases his personal and professional history, featuring original documents, photographs, and exhibitions on psychoanalysis. Both museums provide deep insights into Freud's life, theories, and influence.  

National Museum of Psychology, USA

The National Museum of Psychology in Ohio, USA explores the history and impact of psychology on society. It features interactive exhibits on memory, intelligence, and personality, as well as artifacts from landmark psychological studies, including Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments and the Stanford Prison Experiment. The museum is part of the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology and showcases psychology's evolution as a science and profession. Visitors can engage with historical documents, rare instruments, and multimedia presentations that highlight psychology's role in shaping human understanding.

Mental Health Museums in Bristol and Wakefield, UK 

In the UK there are two other small mental health museums. Glenside Hospital Museum in Bristol explores the history of psychiatric and learning disability hospitals, housed in a former asylum church. It aims to destigmatise mental illness and promote understanding of mental health through exhibitions and collections. Meanwhile, Mental Health Museum in Wakefield, offers insights into the history of mental health care from the 19th century to today. It showcases personal stories and historical artifacts, encouraging discussions on wellbeing and social justice. Both museums provide unique perspectives on mental health history and its evolving treatment.

Why is this an important time to review where we are? 

The general population are perhaps becoming more aware around mental health issues, and there is an increased appetite for psychological information and care. Mental health services have seen an increased need for mental health care in recent years. When I began studying psychology in the early 2000s, therapy was not seen as something that is mainstream in the way that it is now. In line with this, research indicates that the younger generations are more open to therapy, with Gen Z more likely to report mental health concerns and to access therapy.   

With regard to neurodivergence, diagnoses of ADHD and autism have increased significantly over the past five years. This rise is largely attributed to greater awareness, improved diagnostic criteria, and better screening practices. For both diagnoses, an increased understanding has led to more cases being identified because we are better able to recognise non stereotypical presentations. Social media has also played a role, allowing individuals to share experiences and recognise symptoms in themselves. 

As well as the use of mental health services, information seeking online has also increased substantially, with searches for mental health terms increasing substantially from 2019 to 2023. This search data showed increases across many mental health topics, but for social anxiety specifically, searches increased by around 2000 per cent over this time period. This gives us an indication of the impact that the Covid pandemic had on the mental health of the general population and the increased need for information and support. 

Given this increase in interest, it is important for mental health professions to consider how we can meet this need. There is a lot of misinformation out there. However, as mental health professionals we receive no routine training in science communication. If we are unable to meet this need, this gap might be filled with misinformation and in some cases disinformation. 

By the International Council of Museum's definition, a museum "researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage". Based on this definition it seems reasonable to suggest that knowledge and practice related to mental health professions and changes in cultural attitudes towards mental health fit within this remit. 

However these concepts are not easy to exhibit in an engaging way. Ideally, it would be helpful to see more examples of mental health professionals and museum professionals working to meet the current need for information and to create engaging exhibits.

What could mental health exhibits include in the future?

Firstly, the rapid societal change in recent decades has resulted in stark differences in attitudes and behaviours across successive generations, particularly in relation to mental health. Presenting these differences could make a particularly interesting exhibit and could also involve helping to understand the drivers and consequences of differences across generations. Increasingly social media trends have highlighted key differences between what are termed 'Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z'. On social media these posts and reels present a superficial overview of observable differences in behaviour between generations. An exhibit could help visitors to understand the roots of these differences and provide a deeper understanding and opportunity for reflection. This could be both engaging and a way to increase empathy across generations. 

Secondly, as the current mental health museums have a psychiatric and academic focus, a potential new and important addition could include a museum dedicated to psychological therapy. There are many different schools of thought and therapeutic tools and approaches. A prospective exhibit could aim to present these, and to show how thinking has evolved over the years. 

As part of this, it would be interesting to explore ways of representing the human experience of therapy. In my opinion this would be best represented as a physical journey that visitors follow, with steps along the way. The point at which the person began to understand how their history had impacted them and how this was relevant to their current difficulties. The lightbulb moments when they began to see things differently, and the feeling of a weight being lifted. The point at which they began to feel freer, and how this enabled them to begin to change how they interacted with the world. The sense of connection they were then able to find with people and activities, and how that transformed how they felt. This could be represented in creative and engaging ways developed through collaboration between professional groups. 

Thirdly, museums exploring neurodivergence and the changing attitudes and understanding of these conditions are currently missing. It would be interesting to understand how neurodivergence might have been understood and treated differently across different cultures and in different eras. Of course, it would be essential for these exhibits to be co-designed with people who are neurodivergent, with the needs of this population in mind. 

The future?

There has been a movement in recent years to create museums online. Whilst I see the benefits in terms of accessibility, this just doesn't work for me. There is something about physically visiting an exhibit that helps us to become fully absorbed in the topic. But as mental health exhibits can be seen as a niche topic, how can we ensure visitor numbers are sufficient?

Perhaps the answers lie in how we can tie in mental health topics with existing exhibits, and take into account the needs of the local population and visitors to the area. To use my home city of Manchester as an example here, we have a sizable LGBTQ+ population and many visitors from this community. Locally, there have been exhibits that explore the mental health and identity in this population through artwork and poetry. An additional exhibit alongside this could have included psychological insights on these topics. 

At the beginning of this journey, I asked myself 'Why aren't there more mental health museums?' – I now understand there is not a simple answer to this question. All of this requires outreach, networking, collaboration and, importantly, identifying and securing sources of funding. But the existing mental health museums are a testament to how much can be achieved in this space.