This section contains 329 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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The Rediscovery of Community.
The effort to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill was one example of the continuing extension of civil rights from the 1960s. Traditionally, the mentally ill were isolated in large state-run institutions and were often kept calm with heavy doses of drugs. Because of a growing trend emphasizing care at home and in the community, by the mid 1970s many mental institutions had released half or more of their inmates. This shift received strong encouragement from advocates of community psychiatry, who argued state hospitals reinforced disability and isolation, while local services and halfway houses could help return the mentally ill to normal roles in society.
Costs and Civil Rights.
The growing use of tranquilizers to treat patients on an outpatient basis also caused a movement away from mental hospitals. New Social Security regulations provided greater aid to states to support...
This section contains 329 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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