I read something (as often happens, I can't remember where) that was very judgmental about the Kirkbride system, because, after all, you can't cure mental illness with sunshine and dance bands! Which is true, but also IMO misses the point. It's not like he had a better option that actually *would* have cured mental illness (hell, it's not like we in the modern world have come up with effective treatments that always work), and that being so, why not make the patients' lives as good as they could be under the circumstances? A dance band is not going to hurt anyone and it may make life more bearable.