The KHI Medical Video Archive is a collection of historical medical videos primarily used as teaching aids and for public health education. Unless otherwise notated, the majority of these videos are public domain and available from the United States National Library of Medicine. Additional historical medical videos will be added to the archive, contingent upon availability. Please remember to keep a historical perspective when viewing these videos.

The proceeding information should not be construed as medical advice. Please contact a physician or a licensed mental health practitioner if you have medical questions related to treatments of mental disorders.

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Although these videos are educational, some viewers may find scenes in the proceeding videos disturbing or triggering. Please use discretion when viewing.

The Mental Status Examination

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This program and its accompanying booklet present a basic outline for the collection and organization of examination data based on current psychiatric concepts. The program uses a case study with a discussion of the mental status of the individual presented. It begins with a comparison of features of physical and mental examinations. The program then presents an interview with a psychiatrist and a 45-year-old man who cannot work as a result of back and leg pain. First, the film presents the examination itself, followed by a discussion of the outline of the mental status examination. The outline is organized according to four general areas: behavior and appearance, intellectual processes, emotions and perceptions, and reactions to the patient. The information obtained from the patient is classified to facilitate an understanding of the examination process. The program concludes with a list of references for additional information on the mental status of patients.

Treatment in Mental Disorders

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This film shows practices in a psychiatric hospital, including interviews, physical examination on admission, forced feedings, “wet-pack,” “continuous tub,” hydrotherapy, heat therapy, use of sedatives, narcotics, insulin, metrazol, fever therapy, occupational therapy, and recreational activities.

Recent Modifications of Convulsive Shock Therapy

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: Convulsive shock’s usefulness in treating affective disorders is discussed. Metrazol convulsions have been the most popular method, but spinal and extremity fractures made it hazardous until preliminary curare therapy markedly softened the convulsions. A case of manic excitement is shown to illustrate the curare-metrazol therapy. Good results are usually seen after six to eight treatments. A second treatment using quinine methochloride instead of curare is shown. Metho-quinine and metrazol may be administered simultaneously. Post-treatment apnea is more prolonged with curare. Advocates of electro-shock therapy claim that the patient fears it less, loses consciousness instantly, and has softer convulsions. The seizure, however, is still severe and fractures occur. Preliminary curarization will prevent trauma in electro-shock therapy. Shots include: patients receiving curare, quinine methochloride, metrazol, and electro-shock; patients having strong and soft seizures; reactions to the therapies being pointed out; a nurse mixing methoquinine and metrazol; the electro-shock apparatus; and an X-ray of a patient injured during a strong seizure. Shot in Omaha, Nebraska.

Prefrontal Lobotomy in the Treatment of Mental Disorders

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This film describes and demonstrates a prefrontal lobotomy, an operative procedure employed in mental disorders resistive to other methods of treatment. The procedure consists of cutting the white matter in each frontal lobe in the plane of the coronal suture. This passes just anterior to the frontal horn of the ventricle and interrupts the anterior thalamic radiation. This film includes a written description of the procedure, review of landmarks on the skull and frontal lobe on a demonstration skull and brain, operation on a live patient, and X-rays taken after the operation. Filmed with cooperation of George Washington University.

Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This film describes and demonstrates four types of schizophrenia. Filmed at various New York institutions, it shows patients singly and grouped in large, outside recreational areas. Some patients are blindfolded. Symptoms shown include: social apathy, delusions, hallucinations, hebephrenic reactions, cerea flexibilitas, rigidity, motor stereotypes, posturing, and echopraxia.

Booked for Safekeeping

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This 1959 film was made to show policemen proper procedures for handling mentally disturbed citizens who are causing harm to themselves or others in public. Demonstrations include work with the mentally challenged, spousal abusers, suicidal citizens, and those with senile dementia. The film stresses working with partners or with teams to best handle a volatile situation.

Current Trends in the Therapy for Narcotic Addiction

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: Narcotics addiction, as seen by Dr. Daniel H. Casriel, is basically withdrawal behind a chemical as a response to stress, a condition requiring intensive psychotherapy. This method of treatment is used at Daytop Village, New York, where patients live in a therapeutic community for approximately one and a half years. Dr. Jerome H. Jaffe, Director, Drug Abuse Program, State of Illinois, Department of Mental Health, questions the psychiatric approach and discusses methadone treatment of addicts in Chicago. He reports that this method allows the addict to return to the community promptly; that 75 percent of those treated are working; and that rate of return to narcotic use has been very low.Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

Farewell to Childhood

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: Produced by the North Carolina Board of Health and sponsored by the New York-based Mental Health Film Board, this 1951 film focuses on “the trials of adolescence,” in particular the experiences of a girl named Susan who feels misunderstood by her parents and others.

The Inside Story: Tuberculosis

Description from the U.S. National Library of Medicine: This film explains tuberculosis and its treatment to the lay person. A man in an office setting speaks directly at the camera, discussing on the size of the tubercle bacillus; the nature and history of tuberculosis; transmission of the disease; growth of the bacilli in the body illustrated with chalkboard drawings; and the body’s natural defenses against tuberculosis. Tuberculin tests, by injection and by patch, are shown. A mobile chest X-ray unit is shown with people lined up outside and a patient being X-rayed inside. On a chest X-ray, the presence of tuberculosis is pointed out. The film emphasizes that people with active tuberculosis should be kept away from the rest of society. A tuberculosis hospital, characterized as a cure and a preventive, is shown from the outside. Inside, gowned, masked attendants care for patients in a ward. The narrator explains the technique for handling bed linens, etc., so the disease is not spread. The narrator explains and demonstrates on an anatomical model pneumothorax and pneumoperitoneum to rest a diseased lung. He also demonstrates thoracoplasty and resection. Drug advances and drug therapy for tuberculosis are outlined. Good health and hygiene habits are recommended as tuberculosis prevention. Shots include: the tubercle bacilli under the microscope and under the electron microscope; a model of a tubercule; male and female patients in a sun room; X-ray motion pictures of the human lungs in action.

Eastern State Hospital

Contributed by Phil Tkacz & Shawn Logan | contact@kyhi.org

⁘ Works Cited ⁘

Recent Modifications of Convulsive Shock Therapy. Contributed by Abram E. Bennett and Paul T. Cash. United States: University of Nebraska at Omaha. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry. Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital, 1941. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8800321A-vid.
The Mental State Examination. Contributed by United States Public Health Service. Bethesda, MD: The National Medical Audiovisual Center. National Institute of Health, 1962. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-7600323A-vid
Symptoms in Schizophrenia. Contributed by James Daniel Page. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester, 1938. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8700092A-vid
Current Trends in the Therapy for Narcotic Addiction. Contributed by Daniel Casriel, Jerome Jaffe, and Frances Gearing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service, 1969. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8600251A-vid
The Inside Story: Tuberculosis. Contributed by Leslie Roush Productions. New York: NY: National Tuberculosis Association, 1952. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8800778A-vid
Treatment in Mental Disorders. Contributed by James Daniel Page. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester, 1949. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8700838A-vid
Prefrontal Lobotomy in the Treatment of Mental Disorders. Contributed by Walter Freeman and James Winston Watts. State College, PA: The Register, Pennsylvania State College, 1942. Educational Film. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8800490A-vid

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