Moral treatment was an approach to
mental disorder based on humane
psychosocial care or
moral discipline that emerged in the 18th century and came to the fore for much of the 19th century, deriving partly from
psychiatry or
psychology and partly from
religious or moral concerns. The movement is particularly associated with reform and development of the
asylum system in Western Europe at that time. It fell into decline as a distinct method by the 20th century, however, due to overcrowding and misuse of asylums and the predominance of biomedical methods. The movement is widely seen as influencing certain areas of psychiatric practice up to the present day. The approach has been praised for freeing sufferers from shackles and barbaric physical treatments, instead considering such things as emotions and social interactions, but has also been criticised for blaming or oppressing individuals according to the standards of a particular
social class or religion.