Working And Playing To Health - As We See It (1953)

Here in the Midwest, we are proud of the advances made by modern medicine. This hospital in Central Illinois is an example of the kind of institution on which our pride is based. It is a specialized hospital. Its patients are all suffering from mental illness. But mental illness has many forms and its care and treatment require the services of many types of technical experts. Naturally, licensed doctors and registered nurses are in charge of the patients in these buildings. But to their strictly medical skills has been added a whole area of therapy that seems far removed from the sick bed, the laboratory, or the operating room. It is this area that we are about to explore. Through the help of a play, we will discover how occupational, recreational, and industrial therapy can help in the process of curing the mentally ill. The actors and stagehands are all amateurs at theatricals, that is, but not at therapy. In a sense, they're old troopers, for they will be playing themselves and their own patients. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am a doctor, a psychiatrist. But this evening, I'm happy to take part in a presentation that will introduce to you an important aspect of the curative techniques that we use in this hospital. And which are skillfully carried out by people who are not doctors. I'm talking about the occupational, recreational, and industrial therapy staffs who wrote the play you'll see this evening. And who will act in it. These staffs meet each week to profit from each others experiences. To benefit from the give and take of friendly discussions. Let's see what happens at such a staff meeting. Hi, Miss Jordan. Hello, Ray. Well, Betty was an initiation. She had her first game group and did a first-rate job, too. Don't paint the picture too rosy, Ray. I wasn't too good, you know. Can't you just forget your work for a little while and liven up a little? Let's have some fun. Can't the meeting begin? It's really very late. I'm really very busy. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so let's begin. In our last staff meeting, we came to the conclusion that the only way we could grow in our work is to experiment constantly and to analyze and define our materials and methods. Miss Hewitt, you made a suggestion that might start us off today. You thought we might discover the different ways in which activities might be used to interest a patient who is difficult to arouse. Well, I I guess I can best illustrate by telling you about John Latham. A young depressed patient who just wasn't interested in any activity. We tried sports, gym, crafts. We tried just about everything. Then once during workshop period when John was present, John, would you like to see what Alan Henry are making? Sure. We're making these for the kids at Lincoln. See, mine's going to be yellow with red trimmings. Look at Henry there. He's making a deck. John, there are some other patterns in my desk. Here, you look through them. You might find something here you'd like to make. Got lots of tools around here. You use tools for all kinds of things. Make all kinds of things. You can hammer them. You can chisel them. You can hammer them. Chisel them. Kids at Lincoln is going to like my rabbit. They're going to play with it. You can hammer them. Chisel them. Hammer them. Chisel them. Hammer them. Chisel them. Hammer them. Chisel them. All right. Henry, that base seems to be getting a little loose. Do you think another screw might tighten it? What do you want to do, nothing? You ought to make some things, too. They're for the kids. Oh, he will. He's just looking for something he might like to make. What? In the dictionary? We've all had so much fun in our last spelling bee. How about having another next week? Would you like to do that? Yeah, that was fun. That was fun. John, would you look up some words for us in the dictionary? Hm? Well, if we have a spelling match, we'll need words to spell. Would you look up some for us in the dictionary? How many? Oh, about 50. And not too hard to begin with. The discovery of John's interest in words was accidental. But Miss Hewett was quick to take advantage of the accident. She used the words to provide an activity that would interest John. First, he helped with the spelling bees. Then he became well enough to conduct them himself. It was a few months later when Dr. Andrews visited John's group. Let's see what happened again in terms of a dramatization that will help us to understand the meaning behind these special therapies. Dr. Andrews was on general rounds that morning. I'm sorry, Henry. That's your last chance. You're part of the audience now, Hank. Next, spell pneumonia. John, can I interrupt just for a moment? How about asking Dr. Andrews to join us in the spelling bee? Hello, John. Is this your show? Yes, it is, doctor. Well, that's fine. Where would you like to have me stand? Well, right there is okay. All right. I think I've got a good word for you. Try ptarmigan. Ptarmigan? T A R M I uh G A N No. It's a certain species of northern grouse, ptarmigan. Well, that should be a big help. T A R M I G E N No. I'm sorry. You had it right the first time. Except it begins with a P. You sure fooled me on that one. Well, it was a difficult word, but I like it. John's getting on very well. Perhaps a clerical job might be found for him or work on the hospital newspaper. Step by step as John is ready, other members of the staff, like Miss Hewitt, will guide him to recovery. Watching his progress and reactions, alert workers will help John to help himself. But from time to time, the therapists run across patients who don't seem interested in anything, who just cannot express themselves at all in words or actions. Janette, for instance, seemed afraid of everything. Well, hello there, Jeanette. You going to start coming to our class? Hope you like it. We hope so, too, Liz. We all like it here at the art class. Now, here are materials for drawing or modeling in clay. You may choose what you wish, Jeanette. Would you like to sit here? Liz and Marge are working in clay, too. Here is some soft clay you may use. I want to go home. I don't want to do anything. I don't belong here. I want to go home. Say, this head on mine is too small. I'd I to make it larger. Can I have some of your clay to make it larger? Why don't you work up some for yourself, Liz? You know how. Then you could add some fresh and begin on the head again. Okay. Gee, I like to work in clay. Can hear it squish and squish. Hey. That's for you and that's for you. Look at mine. How can I make the walls on mine stronger? They seem so thin. Perhaps if we add some moist clay to the inside it would strengthen it. Like that? See? Now I've made my head larger. I think I'll take it off right here and give myself a brand new head. Sir, a brand new head. I like the one you have now, Liz. You do? That's very pleasing, Janette. May we show it to the others? Well, that's real nice, Janette. I like that. It's the first thing I ever made. To make something, to be proud of it, to be praised for it. Those are reasonable goals for all of us. But Janette would have been quick to sense it either had the praise been too strong or had Anne's support been lacking. Janette thought the bowl was beautiful and that's enough for us. We're not looking for perfection. As a matter of fact, perfection can be a problem in itself. Sometimes patients will concentrate so thoroughly on one task that it blots out everything else in their lives. The routine of a skill already well learned can be used as a wall behind which to hide. Mr. Bitterheim, Mr. Bitterheim, it will rest you if you join us for a few minutes. Then you can go back to your work. Come. End it there. Then you can easily begin again. Please come. Come. makes me new. It turns into doodoodoo. Was mir fehlt, was mir was mich freut, das geb ich hin. Ja, ja, ja. Miss Jordan Mr. Bitterheim just weaves. He doesn't talk to anyone. He doesn't even choose his own colors or his design. He's just a piece of machinery. I guess he's been at it so long he can't do anything else. Of course he can't. Why disturb him now? He's not the least bit of trouble as he is. Why spoil my perfectly good work room? Mrs. Puster we're trying to help Mr. Bitterheim develop an interest in other things and eventually in people. Aren't you willing to help us? Of course. But it's a waste of time. Let's try anyway. After all, making rugs for the hospital isn't the chief function of your workshop anymore, is it? Now, how are we going about helping Mr. Bitterheim? What's your idea? Could we have another patient work on the loom alongside of him? Well, he'd never permit that. It would spoil his perfect work. Well, how about a worker then? Mrs. Smith here learning to weave from him. It would require a great deal of patience and tact, but that might be a solution. We could try it and if it work out, we can think of something else. Mrs. Smith, would you like to try? Oh, I'd like to, if you think I could. I'm sure you can, and if you find that you need help, come back to us. I'd like to weave like that. I'd like to weave like that. May I sit beside you and watch? I'd like to weave like that. Will you show me how? May I try now? Is this the way? No, not like that. Like this. Oh, they're starting to sing. Let's sing with them for a while, Mr. Biederhof. I'd like to. Will you sing with me? Uh I can't sing. So many years ago and then I could only sing when I had my beer. Oh, I can't sing either. I just like to. We don't have to sing. We'll just listen together. And Louise is doing an excellent job in the sorting room. She's ready for discharge. Mrs. Kozak is sorry to lose her. Interesting fact is that when Mrs. Kozak gets in a pinch, Louise of her own accord gives her a hand. Well, if I had to work on a Mrs. Kozak, I'd to Mrs. Kosac was hired as a laundress and not as a therapist. But our industrial workers can help the patient a great deal if they have sympathy for him and understand his needs. People are always asking me, "Why do patients have to work in the institutions?" And I don't know quite how to answer that. Mr. Maxwell, perhaps you'd like to answer that. Well, industrial therapy is a final stage of treatment. It's the bridge between the hospital and the outside world. Most patients will have to support themselves when they get home. And the responsibilities they assume here will help them in facing the problems they'll have when they get back into society. When a patient first comes to the hospital, he's confused and fearful. He's with us because the pressures of his surroundings have become too great for him to handle. In the beginning, he needs only our reassurance and sympathy. He can't be pushed too fast. But little by little, if he finds his trust in other people is not betrayed, if he can learn to take responsibility for himself, he'll learn to work and play with other people. And playing is just as much a part of healthy life as working. It's nice of you to help us set up for our party. We're always glad to help when it's for a party. Are we going to have something to eat? Yes, later. Marge, would you like to play a game of checkers with me? I'm waiting for Al. We always play checkers. Yes, I know, but I thought you might like to play a game with me until he gets here. All right. Waiting for your boyfriend, huh? She always calls him my boyfriend just because we checkers. My goodness, can't we play games together without him being my boyfriend? I should think. Well, of course you can, Marge. I think I'm going home soon. Uh, you always say that. My father put me here. He didn't have any right to put me here. I shouldn't be here and I don't belong here. I don't belong here, either. The FBI put me here. Oh, the FBI. That's right, they did. They're still looking for me. They don't know where I am. Go on and play. Oh, hello, Al. Hi, Mr. Ames. Hi, Marge. I see you already started the game. Oh, how nice you look. I always look nice when I go to a party. Say, Jack, remember that dance that we were doing the other day? Yeah. Would you like to learn a little more of that now? Remember, it's one, two, one turn, one and two, Say, Jack, you're doing all right. You really know how to jitterbug. don't do so bad yourself. Where did you learn that hot step, anyway? Uh, Arthur Murray taught me that himself. Yeah, I'll bet Arthur Murray did. Would you like to learn some more? Yeah, I'll try. Let's all dance, shall we? Let's. Okay, here we go. In everything we've seen here, in every activity, in all the many faces of the work in our hospital, there is one underlying theme. Sympathetic understanding of the needs of the patient. If a sick man or woman is ever to be restored to health, it must be through patience, respect, and understanding.