A key characteristic of medieval Muslim psychotherapy was long-lasting clinical observations of the patient before psychotherapy was recommended to him. In the Muslim world, a mentally ill person was not considered “possessed” (as was the case in Europe at the same time).
The Arabs were the first to institutionalize the treatment of mental illnesses in hospitals. The world’s first psychiatric hospital (Bimaristan Azudi) was opened in Baghdad in 705. A typical Arab hospital had four main arched entrances with many adjoining rooms. In the middle of each bimaristan was a garden with a fountain. Each bimaristan had a department for the treatment of mental illnesses.
