February 2026
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    Can I get recs about older mental health treatment for women in a time period similar to Girl Interrupted and Sylvia Plaths works?

    by anony7150

    6 Comments

    1. I imagine you mean novels. However, if you want a non fiction book and have a strong stomach I recommend the book The Sleep Room by Jon Stock. An investigation into the notorious psychiatrist William Sargent and his weird experimants with women in the mid part of the last century. Disturbing but fascinating.

    2. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A classic, and it’s in the public domain so you can find it free online. It isn’t obvious what’s happening at first, but it is about what you describe.

      Honorable mention: These are modern books depicting institutionalized treatment of women. I know they aren’t exactly what you are looking for, but thought they were worth mentioning. The Vegetarian by Han Kang, The Year’s Midnight by Rachael Neumeier

    3. ShakespeherianRag on

      Elaine Showalter’s *The Female Malady* discusses sources from that period that might be of interest to you

    4. Not about modern institutionalism, and also nonfiction, but h{The Woman They Could Not Silence}

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