Open Access

Samuel Dal Zilio

• In 1963, Anton D. and Marie M. were admitted to the Institute of Psychiatry in Brussels. The records produced during their stay document the conditions of their hospitalization and also reveal the many institutions they interacted with throughout their lives. While not all of these institutional connections left archival traces, some generated valuable records. By cross-referencing these sources – medical, administrative, police, and judicial – we can enhance their archival corpus and reconstruct their trajectories over time. Once gathered, these materials shed light on their individual paths and also provide insights into the long-term transformations of psychiatric care practices. With this article, I aim to demonstrate the potential of biographical reconstructions through the combination of such different materials, offering a closer understanding of the historical experience of psychiatric deinstitutionalization.