Deinstitutionalization

Mental illness can be defined as a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_illness). Some people that suffer from mental illness are required to take medication to control their symptoms. No medications can cure mental illness, but it can reduce relapse. Many people that suffer from mental illness believe that they can function without medication. Most mental illness cannot be detected by looking at a person. When defining mental illness, a person must realize that the definition is broad. The reason for this is because there are several mental illnesses. However, the definition of mental illness just categorizes all mental illnesses.

Deinstitutionalization is a term used to describe reducing long term psychiatric hospitals with agencies that can provide mental health services without a person being hospitalized. I do not think that these programs have been helpful in the community. Most of these programs have long waiting lists and/or appointments are scheduled so far in advance that a person may have relapsed and may be in need of inpatient services. For those that may not require extensive mental health treatment, community programs are very helpful. However, I believe that persons with mild symptoms do not require extensive treatment.

The group that may be mostly affected by deinstitutionalization is the severely mentally ill that do not have family members to care for them (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_populations_were_most_adversely_affected_by_deinstituti

onalization). Most mentally ill persons that do not have family to care for them tend to avoid taking medication or they are so depressed that they self medicate with illegal substances. Another environmental factor that plays a part is finances. A person that may be mentally ill but are financially stable, they