[Community integrated services for persons with mental illness].
Anti-psychotic medications have changed the lives and treatment of persons with mental illness for the better since the social isolation of the 1950s and earlier. Community support programs break down barriers surrounding mental patients, but the stigma and negative attitudes about mental illness continue to block the development of community-based services. Individuals struggling to overcome a mental health issue find themselves facing a constant series of rejections and exclusions. Now that the Mental Health Law and Physically and Mentally Disabled Citizens Protection Act have been amended by The Legislative Yuan, the government will need to review the design of the Mental Health Care Network Project and to promote and facilitate friendly supportive communities for the mentally ill. All of us have to face these challenges to find a new balance between the civil rights of the public and the mentally ill. This paper examines issues concerning the gap between the development of the mental health system and the needs of patients and their families in the last two decades. The system often falls short of meeting needs. To meet the mental health needs of the people and make effective use of resources, changes must be made in the way services are designed, organized and delivered. The process of reforming mental health services, moreover, must not take money away from other services. Instead, changes must be made by reallocating funds. Following the revised Mental Health Law, the government should begin now to develop implementation planning guidelines to establish a comprehensive and integrated mental health services system, especially for the 80?% of patients with mild or moderate mental health problems who live in the community. We will monitor the process carefully, and ensure that patients and their families get the services they need, and help them remain in their communities as far as possible.
Liu
Jung-Tai
JT
Taipei Mental Rehabilitation Association, ROC. liu3849@hotmail.com
D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D013624:Taiwan