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By RON KELLY ASHMORE, Ill.—Insects crawled over eyelids. Faces in a mirror had grotesque features. A body was drenched with an oily fluid. Rats crawled inside a ribcage, gnawing at flesh. That was the world of a schizophrenic, whose hallucina tions were graphically portrayed in a movie shown to law officers from two counties Monday night at Ashmore Estates Psychiatric Hospital. The movie followed a film that demonstrated how law officers should subdue a mentally ill per son who has gone berserk. Dr. R. C. Arnold, a psychiatrist who is director of Ashmore Estates, observed in a question and answer session that followed showing of the films: —Mental illness usually starts with vague physical symptoms that tests by physicians find no cause for. —Mental illness strikes all age groups in nearly equal numbers. —The number of senile mental patients is increasing because of the life-span increase. —Early detection of symptoms of mental illness is “most import ant” in treatment. Police Tour Hospital Police officers from Charleston, Mattoon and Sullivan learned during a guided tour of Ashmore Estates, which is located in the building formerly known as the Coles County Poor Farm, that the hospital. —Is a private institution that gets no tax support. —Is staffed by 37 persons, in cluding Dr. Arthur Looby, psy chologist, and a social worker. —Has a 35-patient capacity. —Treats about 100 patients a year who have acute mental ill nesses. —Provides outpatient care for persons living as far as 70 miles from the hospital. Receives most patients (about 90 per cent) through referrences by physicians. Dr. Arnold defined schizo phrenia as a common type of mental illness that is characteriz ed by “loss of contact’ with real ity. He said many psychiatrists be lieve that there is only one type of mental illness and that various emotional disorders are different degrees of suffering with differ ent symptoms. More Persons Cured Dr. Arnold said percentages of mentally ill persons getting well and returning to a normal life are increasingly higher than they were when the science of the mind was regarded as some kind of witch craft. He said that where there is little hope of resolving a mental disorder there is hope of arresting the illness so that the person can lead some sort of normal life. The movie on subduing mental ly ill persons who have gone berserk showed police officers that patience and calm reassurances are helpful in avoiding injury to the patient and the officer. Chief Marion Joseph and Capt. Raymond Senteney represented the Mattoon police department. Coles County Sheriff Paul B. Smith and deputies James Warpenburg, Ralph Koontz, E. E. (Bud) Wirth, James Hunter, Rob ert Galbreath and Earl F. Good man also attended. State Sen. Paul (Red) Graham, R-Mattoon, also toured the hos pital.
Newspaper Details
Daily Journal Gazette
Mattoon, Illinois, US
Tue, Jan 28, 1964
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Sierra S.
USA 15 Jun 2026
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