This is something that happened in 1969 with tragically flawed experiment parameters that had no way to be measured or deterred from different uncontrollable variables. This wasn't an experiment, it was a stunt. The fact of the matter is that if you present yourself as a schizophrenic, you can't be magically cured. It doesn't just go away.

I always thought that everyone had a little wrong with them but “sane” people hid it better. :-) But after some of the stories I’ve heard first hand, I’m terrified to ever even walk into a mental “health” centre.

Back in 1969 it was hard to get out of a mental hospital. In 2018 it's next to impossible to get the mental treatment many need.

That is interesting. My dad tells the story of a girl he was dating, was admitted to a psych facility. One day on his visit to her she went crazy on him and he decided to leave and not see her again. On his way out he said the body guards stepped in and said to him "where do you think you're going??" my dad replied "oh just to home now I guess" and they wouldn't let him leave convinced he was one of their admitted patients. He had to convince them to look at the front desk check in where his ID was being held until then he was a prisoner he said it took a few hours to get out!

That was 1969, before Nixon closed most facilities. Now you have to pay. Thanks to Nixon signing the Health Maintenance Organization Act, making it legal to profit from Health Care.

Working in mental health, this is very fascinating study and article. I will follow up further.

Thank God they were all released. Imagine if one of the hospitals refused to let the person go.

Been there, dealt with that. They are horrible places if you don’t play by the scripts they have in mind for you. Yes, even “today”. They are horrible places regardless. One woman I met had been electro shocked 7 times in 30 days, with the “psychiatrist” saying “we’ll get rid of those bad memories”. That’s not how you treat the residue of abuse and post-partum depression, m**********r! As for me, I encountered a sociopathic RN and a sociopathic or narcissistic psychiatrist. Not even exaggerating. I had to “be compliant” and take a drug that almost killed me just to get the f**k out of there. You think you have freedom... under very real laws, your civil freedoms can be suspended at the drop of a hat because someone has coerced a family member to sign a form to have you put in a psych ward. Worst things ever done to me.

Getting out is easy if you don't have insurance of any kind.

Goes to show, that then as today, most such medical professionals have no idea what in the f**k they are doing. Yes, they might be book learned but have no idea how to read people and translate the books into actual, practical medical help. In many cases, what they do is give the patients standardised tests, fill them with pills and that is that. I have been evaluated by such professionals very often due to the nature of my former work. In all the cases, they completely misread my personality. Bottom line is, that majority of psychologists are just there to tick off the boxes and collect the paycheck.

Okay, stuff that happened over 40 years ago aren't exactly an indication on what happens right now. Furthermore, what exactly would one expect on this? Imagine yourself a guy being investigated by a detective as part of a case. The person *LIES* to the detective and says he committed the murder. The guy is then arrested based on his own confession and later on claims he is innocent and should be let out of jail cause he was just kidding. Seriously show of hands, how many people here would just release the guy? The fact is, these people went into an asylum under false pretenses and lied about it. Therefore, they got a false diagnosis based on their LIES. So what do you expect the asylum to do? Just release them? Because they said they are okay? It's not like their conditions could be cure in a day or two. If the longest one was 50 days that sounds reasonable to me - especially 40 years ago.

This was in 1969. As of today, most places in the world don't have enough facilities for the mentally ill. Many are abandoned on the streets. Note: Up to 1 in 5 homeless people have schizophrenia. So unless the facility that the fake patient checks in is private and costs an arm and a a leg, the chance of being admitted is very slim.

When someone fakes their symptoms for the purpose of some sort of secondary gain, that is properly diagnosed as Malingering. This can be a difficult diagnosis to make, particularly with mental illness complaints. These journalist/actors were in fact diagnosible. ICD10 code for malingering is Z76.5.

VA hospitals are probably the worst, no treatment at all. they just warehouse you.

It is hard enough having mental illness now let alone then!!! hell!!

I recommend the book Girl Interrupted. It gives you an idea of how patients, especially women, were treated at mental health facilities. She was cured by agreeing to get married. The 60s were a sexist time.

I recall reading how, early in the last century, may be the 20s or 30s simply on the word of a male family member, a female could be permanently institutionalized. Admitted with some "affliction"