title: Alternative services, professional practice, and community mental health.
abstract: Innovative services staffed by nonprofessionals have become a significant means of meeting a variety of community mental health needs. Most such services have elements in common, and have adopted non-traditional approaches to meeting mental health needs. As viable community mental health resources, alternative services are examined from several perspectives, including their origins, their characteristics and attractiveness to the consumer, and their relationships to mental health professionals.
mesh_terms: D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000266:history; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D049673:History, 20th Century; D014481:United States