title: Dromokaition Psychiatric Hospital of Athens: from its establishment in 1887 to the era of deinstitutionalization.
abstract: Dromokaition Psychiatric Hospital opened its doors in 1887, following the donation made by Zorzis Dromokaitis from the island of Chios. Private donations and all forms of charities had contributed to a large extent in the establishment of hospitals across Greece, during the late 19th and the early 20th century. Dromokaition was one of them but it was also unique, as it was the first psychiatric hospital in Athens, admitting patients from every part of the country. This paper aimed at highlighting the long service of the institution through the different historical periods the country went through. We present the chronicle of its foundation, the development of its inner structure, and the medical and organizational influences which it received, along the way. The therapeutic methods used during the first decades of its operation reflected the corresponding European standards of the time. As a model institution from its foundation, it followed closely the prevailing European guidelines, throughout its historical path, either as an independent institution or as an integrated one within the National Health Service.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Hospital of Athens Dromokaition, 84 Kallisthenous str., Athens, 11852 Greece.
authors.forename: Markella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiste
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ploumpidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Medical School of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Costas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsiamis
authors.affiliation: History of Medicine, Medical School of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Effie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poulakou-Rebelakou
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Psychiatry, Medical School of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Liappas
keywords: Biological psychiatry; Deinstitutionalization; Dromokaition Psychiatric Hospital; Internment; Occupational therapy; Private donation; Psychosurgery