The transfer of care : psychiatric deinstitutionalization and its aftermath /

The shift in the locus of patient care from the hospital to the community may well be one of the most massive changes in the American mental-health care system and perhaps in any social service system. Coming a century after the invention of the asylum, this shift has excited much attention to particular aspects of the experience-policies, programs, professional opinions, and the quality of care. The political and legislative aspects have been well documented by Henry A. Foley (Community Mental Health legislation: The Formative Process, 1975), but a comprehensive overview and interpretation of this social movement has been lacking. Sociologist Brown (Brown University) performs a useful function by focusing on the political and economic structures, the role of the professions, and the inertia of organizations to understand how this movement came about and evolved, often in unanticipated ways. No student of the mental health scene can afford to miss this volume. Upper division and above.-N.W. Bell, University of Toronto