Community Mental Health

The client group referred to as the long-term mentally ill, the persistently severely mentally distressed, the chronically psychotic, or people with long-term mental health problems, have generally received a poor deal from the traditional psychiatric services. Help has largely rested on custodial and medical treatments. With the growing emphasis on community care, it is now time to develop services in the community which are both beneficial and acceptable to the people who receive them. The text calls for more effective collaboration between professionals in health authorities and local authorities, the voluntary sector, the various informal carers at home, and above all the clients themselves. This book should be of interest to occupational therapists and other members of the multi-health care team.