The Community Mental Health Act Of 1963 - 1064 Words

The Community Mental Health Act of 1963, was the first federal law that inspired community-based mental health care, and it ignited the transformation of the public mental health system (Young Minds Advocacy, 2016). Other names of the Act are Mental Retardation and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963. It was the beginning of the Deinstitutionalized movement in mental health treatment options for children, youth, and adults (National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH), 2015). States received money from grants, from the Community Mental Health Act for the construction of these mental health centers. Initially, the intention of the grant program was to provide 1500 mental health centers nationally (Young Minds†¦show more content†¦Institutional care was condemned, as in many cases patients’ mental conditions deteriorated, and institutions were not able to treat the individual in a holistic manner. In many state institutions, patients numerously o utnumbered the poorly trained staff. Many patients were boarded in these facilities for extensive periods of time without receiving any services. By 1963, the average stay for an individual with a diagnosis of schizophrenia was eleven years. As the media and newspapers publicized the inhumane conditions that existed in many psychiatric hospitals, awareness grew and there was much public pressure to create improved treatment options (Young Minds Advocacy, 2016). . In an effort to transform the public mental health system, in 1963, President Kennedy proposed the Community Mental Health Act. It was the first among several federal initiatives to create a community mental health care system. Once the act was ratified, there was an intense deterioration in institutionalization, otherwise known as â€Å"deinstitutionalization†, and by 1980 there was a 75% declined of the inpatient population at many public psychiatric hospitals. In 2000, there was less than 10% of the public institutionalized just fifty years earlier. In 2009, there was even a more dramatic shift among children and adolescence whereby there was a 98% decline inShow MoreRelatedThe Community Mental Health Centers Act Of 1963 Closed State Psychiatric Hospitals1191 Words   |  5 PagesMany years ago, mental illness was viewed as a demonic possession or a religious punishment. In the 18th century, the attitudes towards mental illness were negative and persistent. This negativit y leads to the stigmatization and confinement of those who were mentally ill. The mentally ill were sent to mental hospitals that were unhealthy and dangerous. A push in the mid 1950s for deinstitutionalization began because of activists lobbying for change. Dorothea Dix was one of these activists that helpedRead MoreCommunity Mental Health Movement Of The United States1210 Words   |  5 PagesCommunity Mental Health Movement For many years, people who suffered with mental illness were more often than not institutionalized and severely mistreated. The history of the Mental Health movement begins in 1909. The history of advocacy began with Clifford W. Beers. Beers, himself an ex-psychiatric patient who, after his release, crusaded to bring mental health and mental illness to the attention of his fellow citizens (Pols). In 1908, Beers published his autobiography, A Mind That Found ItselfRead MoreThe Release Of Institutionalized Individuals From Institutional Care1080 Words   |  5 Pageshospital) to care in the community. Deinstitutionalization is a long term pattern wherein less individuals live as patients in mental facilities and less psychological well-being treatments are delivered in public facilities. 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Whether or not the label is applied will depend on how the act isRead MoreThe Labelling Theory Movement Among Criminologist And Sociologists1594 Words   |  7 Pagesto portray the person in power which campaign to make certain deviant behaviour outlawed (Becker, 1963). He suggests that most laws are founded on that basis, and the behaviour that is classified as criminal is ever changing. Thus, the criminal behaviour is impertinent to the labelling theory. What actually matters is which outlaws are arrested and processed by the criminal justice system (Becker, 1963). Due to the belief that societal and personal factors do not kick in as motivations for criminalRead MoreAccording To Erchul Martens (2012), The Earliest Consultation1202 Words   |  5 Pagessupervising a group of psychologists and social workers who were caring for a 16,000 immigrant adolescents with mental illness that were located in 100 residential institutions, where transportation to get to the clients were often problematic; and there were approximately 1,000 initial request for assistance with these individuals. In response to such constraint, a new way of providing mental services emerged. Rather than Caplan and his team meeting with individual clients in the clinic, Caplan andRead MoreMental Health Of Individuals Living With Schizophrenia1399 Words   |  6 PagesThe mental health of individuals livin g with schizophrenia not only depends on the severity of their mental illness, it also depends on their inclusion within their community (Michael, 2012). Despite recent advances and treatment, individuals suffering from schizophrenia encounter a considerable stigma that creates barriers to them receiving adequate treatment which in turn hinders their full integration into society (Morgan, 2003). The conceptualization of stigma was explored (Goffman, 1963) asRead MoreHealthcare Delivery For Persons With Mental Illness1269 Words   |  6 Pagesdelivery for persons with mental illness is complex and many barriers exist that prevent patients from receiving quality care such as homelessness, substance abuse, imprisonment, stigma, accessibility, and cost. A review of the history of mental health, an examination of past and future laws, and an assessment of what the barriers to achieving mental health wellness are, will help to improve awareness and promote better treatment solutions for those afflicted by mental illnesses. Important HistoricalRead MoreBeing A Stigmatized Person By Sociologist Erving Goffman Essay916 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Management of a Spoiled Identity was published in 1963 and in the first chapter the book, Goffman determines the three types of stigma; stigma of character traits, physical stigma, and stigma of group identity. Stigma of character traits are â€Å"blemishes of individual character perceived as weak will, domineering, or unnatural passions, treacherous and rigid beliefs, and dishonesty, these being inferred from a known record of, for example, mental disorder, imprisonment, addiction, alcoholism, homosexualityRead MoreNational Institute Of Mental Health Essay727 Words   |  3 PagesNational Institute of Mental Health: Panic disorder The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2015) mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses (NIMH, 2015). NIMH try to accomplish this though clinical research, so they can prevent and cure people. Their goals are to promoting the discovery of the brain, so they can find the cure for the mental disorder, and developing new intervention that ingrate the need and support for people with mental illnesses (NIMH, 2015)