Forgotten Voices of Psychiatric History

Psychiatric history is traditionally written from the perspective of doctors and institutions. Two lectures shift this angle and place patients' own accounts at the centre - based on the book "Patient Voices from the Asylum" (2026). The source material consists of censored patient letters, pamphlets, newspaper articles, complaints, and photographs.

Wednesday 21/10/26, 17:00-18:45 - a historical perspective

Line Keller Nørbøge Ottosen, PhD student at Aarhus University, shows how patients resisted coercion, confinement, and powerlessness from the early years of psychiatry. The lecture examines how these voices have been found and argues that they should be included in historical writing - and in today's debate about psychiatry.

Wednesday 28/10/26, 17:00-18:45 - a psychological perspective

Klaus Nielsen, professor of psychology at Aarhus University, describes the treatment philosophy of the asylum era: doctors were optimistic and believed in cure as an alternative to the brutal asylums of the time. Patients experienced it differently - a strongly class-divided everyday life marked by coercion and abuse. The lecture draws lines to psychiatry today.

Both lectures are held in Trekanten's Orangeri, Sebbersundvej 2A, 9220 Aalborg East. Trekanten Café sells food and drinks.