Artists & Mental Illness

History of Mental Health and its Asylums and Prisons 

I have a desire to know about the architecture of insane asylums and prisons, as well as the history of mental illness treatment and its close relationship to crimes and punishment.

I first became interested in focusing on mental health when I was in High School. The town I lived in had quite a progressive mental health center and they paired trained teenagers with families and children they were working with in their clinic.

The director and trainer of this program was honored by having a building on the grounds of the State Psychiatric Center named after her. It was in one of these pairings, that I met an 8-year-old boy who was to make an indelible mark on my psyche, and further push me in the direction that I had dreamed of going in since the age of 8, when I first declared what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I had no idea at that age what a therapist was, but my goal was not the title. It was the focus — I planned to “help every child in the world.”

~ Cara ~

Cara Kent is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a BA in Criminology and an MA in Counseling Psychology.

She is mother to Ian and Shannon, grandmother to Zach and Kingston.

Her work experiences include: Clinical Director, Clinician, Polygraph Examiner, Program Developer, Author, Consultant, Adjunct Professor and Trainer.

You can reach her at: Curiositiesifvg@gmail.com