A view of the old Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford, a psychiatric hospital in North Battleford, when it was opened in February, 1914. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Highlighting history

History of psychiatry in Saskatchewan part of Mental Health Week talks

May 9, 2024 | 6:33 PM

The history of psychiatry in Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford was the focus of a talk this week by Canadian historian Erika Dyck..

Dyck, with the University of Saskatchewan, is a Professor and a Canada Research Chair in the History of Health and Social Justice.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, Dyck visited the Battlefords to give a presentation at Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.

Erika Dyck, professor and a Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice, at her talk this week. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Dyck focused on the history of psychiatric hospitals in Canada, focusing on the ones in Saskatchewan, such as facilities in Weyburn and North Battleford, and some of the issues patients dealt with in the early years, such as overcrowding.

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“There are days of celebration in terms of the economic drivers the hospitals offered, but for patients I think some of those days were rather grim,” she said “There were meagre resources available to them. A lot of the work effort [was] involved in managing the grounds and whatnot.

Dyck reflected the early days were not all bad, adding that “there were some hits and misses there certainly.”

She noted Saskatchewan has been a site of innovative thinking and ways of “thinking outside the box” in psychiatry.

“We really played a leadership role sometimes in helping to reinvest in communities, and reinvest in patients as part of those communities,” Dyck said. “I think it’s something we really need to hold dear and be proud of.”

Dyck said she’s excited to be taking part in the activities during Mental Health Week and the Saskatchewan Hospital Legacy Trail Walk.

“That’s part of the spirit,” she said. “What Saskatchewan has often given to that way of thinking – not just investing in medical care, but really thinking about broad-based services that integrate with the community.”

Jane Shury, with the Saskatchewan Hospital Legacy Trail project and the Battlefords North-West Historical Society, is a retired registered psychiatric nurse who used to work at the original Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford after graduating in 1956.

Shury said Dyck’s presentation was “absolutely awesome.”

“I can relate to a lot of the things she said, specifically in regards to her research about Saskatchewan Hospital and Saskatchewan mental health, because I was there,” Shury said.

At the time she started with the hospital it was a training facility as well as a place for treatment.

“I’ve seen the improvement from way back in the early ’50s, insulin [shock] therapy, lobotomies, all those new [treatments], until the [pharmaceutical] drugs came into play. That was a big curve upwards. A lot more people were being helped faster and easier than through the methods way back. That’s wonderful.”

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsNOW