The massive depopulation of state mental hospitals in the 1950s (known as "deinstitutionalization") posed special challenges to mental health consumers in need of intensive psychiatric treatment. No longer confined to long-term inpatient psychiatric wards, consumers were thrust into nursing homes, assisted living centers, and onto the streets. Psychiatric treatment was relocated to the community, and the concept of recovery took on a new meaning. Classics in Community Psychiatry is the first volume to examine the course of the community psychiatry movement over the past fifty years. Starting with deinstitutionalization, the editors chart the progress and setbacks of the movement by presenting carefully selected primary source material from the realms of academia, politics, and even literature. For example, a classic journal article explores the relationship between social class and mental health, while excerpts from government documents describe mental health legislation. A novel demonstrates social attitudes toward the mentally ill, while a report from a federally funded task force discusses homelessness and severe mental illness. Each selection pinpoints a specific issue and moment of time during the history of mental health services over the past five decades, and is accompanied by insightful commentary from the volume's editors. The result is a unique, innovatively conceived book that incorporates many different viewpoints to illustrate the evolution of community psychiatry, as well as the need to devote more resources and planning to mental health services looking ahead. Classic in Community Psychiatry will be a valuable resource for mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, administrators, and policymakers, and for graduate and undergraduate students in community psychology and psychiatry.

About the Author
Michael Rowe, Associate Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Co-Director, Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health Ken Thompson, Medical Director, federal Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical School Martha Lawless, Program for Recovery & Community Health, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine Larry Davidson, Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Director, Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health

Reviews
"For anyone interested in the history of mental healthcare in the U.S., this is a fascinating book. It takes readers through the rise of institutionalization and asylums to their demise and the movement of reintroducing the mentally ill as members of society. The classics are well chosen and interesting to read, and they provide real insight into the mindset of the people involved in mental healthcare of their particular time period. The editorials are thoughtful and concise. This book gives readers a new appreciation of community mental healthcare and I would highly recommend it." --Doody's "In addition to overview essays dealing with each of the eras, each account has a detailed introduction that provides background. The result is a thoughtfully bundled professional reader that also could serve as an excellent classroom text." -- Health Affairs "This is a fascinating and illuminating collection of writings that will be a nostalgic reminder of developments in the field for those who have devoted their careers to community psychiatry and a mine of valuable information for those who are just entering it...There is something to interest everyone in this fascinating collection." -- The American Journal of Psychiatry



Book Information
ISBN 9780195326048
Author Michael Rowe
Format Hardback
Page Count 648
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 1293g
Dimensions(mm) 183mm * 251mm * 43mm