The Saskatchewan Mental Hospital at Weyburn, opened in 1921, was among the largest psychiatric institutions in Canada and the British Commonwealth, and has been described as one of the last purpose-built asylums of its kind in North America. Initially conceived as a modern facility for the care and treatment of mental illness, it soon became marked by chronic overcrowding and administrative challenges. By the mid-twentieth century the hospital attracted wider attention for its role in experimental therapies, including early psychiatric use of LSD. From the 1960s onward, provincial reforms led to deinstitutionalization, with patients transferred into community-based care as the institution declined and was eventually closed.
The volume examines the history of this institution as a means of tracing broader developments in psychiatric care in Canada. Drawing on archival records and personal accounts, the authors explore changing approaches to mental illness, including custodial care, therapeutic experimentation, and the shift toward community integration. Attention is given to the experiences of patients, the role of medical and political authority, and the social contexts shaping institutional practice over the twentieth century.
Notes adapted from the publisher's description.
