John Conolly

Did you know…..

the English physician John Conolly (1794-1866) pioneered the complete suppression of containment methods for the 800 patients of the Middlesex Asylum in Hanwell?

This doctor was in favor of the so-called “Non-restraint” method, which consisted in the non-use of methods of mechanical restraint (for example, ties) with the mentally agitated patients.

Conolly, belonging to a Scottish family, studied medicine in Edinburgh and practiced as a doctor in several English cities. Later he worked as a professor at the University of London.

John Conolly and two other medical colleagues, Forbes and Hastings, were the founders of a medical association that would later lead to the British Medical Association. Conally and Forbes created a publication entitled “Quarterly Journal of Practical Medicine” for  medical topics.
Among Conolly’s publications, the following should be mentioned:

1.- In 1830 Conolly edited his book “An Inquiry Concerning the Indications of Insanity with Suggestions for the Better Protection and Care of the Insane” was published.

2.- In 1847 he published “Construction and Government of Lunatic Asylums“.

3.- In 1856 he published “The Treatment of the Insane without Mechanical Restraints“.

(Edited by Dr. María Moya Guirao, MD)