This panel was originally commissioned by Dr. Louis Mars, the mental health administrator for Haiti and Dr. Nathan Kline, a pioneer in psychotropic drug rehabilitation, who envisioned making Haiti a demonstration project for his theories about the effectiveness of drug therapy. Together they devised a program to promote funding by U.S. pharmaceutical companies for the construction of a modern mental health facility in Port-au-Prince. During the initial trip to Haiti in May 1958 to document the apalling existing conditions, Smith described the making of the best-known photograph from this series, Mad Eyes: It was in a long, very dark room and there was one light bulb. And this woman-she is a woman-would rush up to the light and stare at it and say, 'Ooooooo', and then she would turn and run away. And then she would turn and run back to the light and look again, 'Ooooooo'. So I tried two or three pictures of it.

Publication of this image was withheld until 1960, appearing in a limited circulation medical magazine, published by International Medical Press for Hoffmann-LaRoche, a sponsor of the project.