Asylum on the Hill is the story of a great American experiment in psychiatry, a revolution in care for those with mental illness, as seen through the example of the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Built in southeast Ohio after the Civil War, the asylum embodied the nineteenth-century "gold standard" specifications of moral treatment. Stories of patients and their families, politicians, caregivers, and community illustrate how a village in the coalfields of the Hocking River valley responded to a national movement to provide compassionate care based on a curative landscape, exposure to the arts, outdoor exercise, useful occupation, and personal attention from a physician.
Katherine Ziff's compelling presentation of America's nineteenth-century asylum movement shows how the Athens Lunatic Asylum accommodated political, economic, community, family, and individual needs and left an architectural legacy that has been uniquely renovated and repurposed. Incorporating rare photos, letters, maps, and records, Asylum on the Hill is a fascinating glimpse into psychiatric history.

Foreword. Christina M. Puchalski, MD, Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University School of Medicine, and Founder and Director of The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health. Introduction. George Fitchett, DMin, PhD, Professor and Director of Research, Department of Religion, Health and Human Values, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. Part 1. Paediatric Case Studies. Steve Nolan, PhD, Chaplain, Princess Alice Hospice, Esher, UK. 1.1. "God tells the doctors to pick the right medicine" - LeeAnn, a 12 year old girl with cystic fibrosis. Daniel H. Grossoehme, DMin, BCC, Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Division of Pulmonary Medicine), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 1.2. "I can tell you this, but not everyone understands" - Erica, a mother of a two year old girl with cancer. Alice A. Hildebrand, MDiv, BCC, Women's and Children's Service Line Chaplain at Barbara Bush Children's Hospital of Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine. 1.3. "Why did God do this to me?" - Angela, a 17 year old girl with spinal injury. Katherine M. Piderman, PhD, BCC, Staff Chaplain, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. 1.4. Critical Response to Paediatric Case Studies - A Chaplain's Perspective. Alister W. Bull, BD, Dip Min, MTh, PhD, Secretary to the Mission and Discipleship Council, Church of Scotland, previously NHS Healthcare Chaplain, Yorkhill Children's Hospital, Glasgow and Lead Chaplain, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, UK. 1.5. Critical Response to Paediatric Case Studies - A Psychologist's Perspective. Sian Cotton, PhD, health psychologist and Director, Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and UC Health Integrative Medicine, University of Cincinnati. Part 2. Psychiatric Case Studies. Steve Nolan. 2.1. "I am frightened to close my eyes at night in case the witch comes to me in my sleep" - Yesuto, an African man in his early thirties troubled by his belief in witchcraft. Rosie Andrious-Ratcliffe, PhD, Trust Chaplain and Mental Health Lead, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK. 2.2. "I tried to kill myself. Will God keep me apart from the person I love in the life-after?" - June, a 78 year old woman who attempted suicide. Chris Swift, PhD, Head of Chaplaincy Services, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and Visiting Research Fellow, University of Leeds, UK. 2.3. "My family wants me to see a priest. It can't hurt, right?" - Nate, a 20 year old man and his sexual identity. Angelika A. Zollfrank, BCC, ACPE, Clinical Pastoral Educator, Massachusetts General Hospital. 2.4. Critical Response to Psychiatric Case Studies - A Chaplain's Perspective. Graeme D. Gibbons, DMin, BA, BD, Grad Dip Psych, Ordained Minister, Uniting Church, Australia, and accredited Clinical Pastoral Educator by the Association of Supervised Pastoral Education, Australia. 2.5. Critical Response to Psychiatric Case Studies - A Psychiatrist's Perspective. Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Pastoral and Moral Theology, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Divinity School. Part 3. Palliative Case Studies. Steve Nolan. 3.1. "I need to do the right thing for him" - Andrew, a Canadian Veteran at the end of his life, and his daughter Lee. Jim Huth, PhD, Spiritual Care Provider, Sunnybrook Veterans Centre, Toronto, Canada, and Wes Roberts, MTS, BRE, Chaplain, Sunnybrook Veterans Center, Toronto, Canada. 3.2. "What can you do for me?" - David, a mid-60s Jewish man with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Nina Redl, BCC, Bryan Medical Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. 3.3. "Tell her that it's OK to release her spirit" - Maria, a Native American woman, grieving the loss of her dying mother. Richard C. Weyls, MDiv, STL, BCC, Staff Chaplain, Paaliative Care Consult Team, Swedish Health Systems, Washington. 3.4. Critical Response to Palliative Case Studies - A Chaplain's Perspective. David Mitchell, BD, Dip P Theo, MSc, PG Cert, TLHE, Programme Leader, Postgraduate Education in Healthcare Chaplaincy, University of Glasgow, UK. 3.6. Critical Response to Psychiatric Case Studies - A Nurse's Perspective. Barbara Pesut, PhD, RN, Canada Research Chair in Health, Ethics and Diversity, and Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Part 4. Ethical Issues in Chaplaincy Case Study. David B. McCurdy, DMin, BCC, adjunct faculty member in Religious Studies, Elmhurst College, and previously Senior Ethics Consultant and Director of Organizational Ethics, Advocate Health Care. Afterword. John Swinton, PhD, BD, RNM, RNHD, Professor, Practical Theology and Pastoral Care, School of Divinity, Religious Studies and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, UK.