In the years before anti-psychotic medication, the primary treatment available to patients at Crownsville was hydrotherapy. In bathrooms and communal showers, aides would set up deep soaking tubs. They’d take the most troublesome patients and submerge them into extreme temperatures. A large white sheet would wrap around the tub, leaving only a small space for the patient’s head to poke through. Patients would sit there, unable to move or lift their limbs, for hours or even days in icy or burning-hot water.
