Undercover Reporting

I-"Living at Larned Is a Demoralizing Experience" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the first of six articles.

1974-01-28

". . . I lived with the 'insane' and was told by a dangerous mental patient that I was 'all right' and should not be there. I discovered that a woman who shot her husband three times, chopped him up with an axe and buried him can be as 'sane' as anyone I know. . ."

II-"New Patients Stripped of Belongings, Dignity" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the second of six articles.

1974-01-29

"When I was admitted to Larned State Hospital, I was stripped. Stripped of nearly all my belongings and stripped of most of my dignity. When I telephoned to obtain information about being admitted, I posed as my sister. I spoke with Dr. Mario Torres, who asked the name of the patient, and for a brief description of the problem . . . "

IV-"Boredom and Drugs Form a Typical Day" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the fourth of six articles.

1974-01-31

"A typical day at Larned State Hospital is laced with boredom, fear, anxiety and a lot of drugs - for the patients. . ."

VI-"Day at Larned Just One Big Trip" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichta Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the last of six articles.

1974-02-02

"Want a real tri? Like drugs? Visit Larned State Hospital. Become a patient and you'll be administered enough anti-depressants to calm the greatest fear you ever thought you had. . ."

III-"Patient Welcomed by Assault, Sexual Attack" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the third of six articles.

1974-01-30

"But it had been my first exposure to other women patients earlier in the day which set the stage for future occurrences, many of which were highlighted not for their starkness, but by boredom. . ."

Preview: "Trip Into Darkness" - Unsigned - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

A Week at Larned State Hospital; Inside Story of a Mental Ward Told

1974-01-27

"Imagine being soaked with cold water while bound to a chair and being forced to sit there for six hours."And after being bound to the chair, imagine the degradation of having no alternative but to use a bedpan in front of 35 other persons. "The scene is not a prisoner of war camp. It's a state mental institution -- in Kansas . . . "

V-"Hardened Aides Soon Spawn Fear in Larned Newcomer" - Betty Wells - Wichita Eagle and Wichita Beacon

Staff Writer Betty Wells was a voluntarily committed patient for eight days at Larned State Hospital. No one at the hospital knew she was there to find out what life in a mental institution is like. This is the fifth of the six articles.

1974-02-01