Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Friends Hospital has been providing psychiatric treatment to adolescents, adults and seniors for centuries, making it the oldest private psychiatric hospital in the nation. In 1813, the Quakers founded Friends Hospital based on the belief that all people, even those with a mental illness, can live a "moral, ordered existence if treated with kindness, dignity and respect." The main focus of "moral treatment" was to strengthen the mental wellness of each patient. Treatment concentrated on strengthening mental health instead of curing mental illness. This was a departure from the accepted view of the time and the guiding principle on which all of the hospital’s procedures were based.
Today, Friends Hospital still operates under this original mission and—using the modern principles of wellness and recovery—strives to provide patients with the tools they need to understand and manage their symptoms. Starting with a thorough evaluation, an individualized treatment plan is developed to help stabilize acute psychiatric symptoms.
- Oldest private psychiatric hospital in the nation — founded by the Quakers in 1813 exclusively to help persons with mental illness
- Offers level of care assessments; specially designed inpatient units for adolescents, adult and older adults; and a private residential rehabilitation program
- Philadelphia’s first recovery-oriented inpatient unit