Policy Press

Mental Health Services and Community Care

A Critical History

By Ian Cummins

Published

Apr 24, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1447350590

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Apr 24, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1447350644

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

Apr 24, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1447350644

Imprint

Policy Press
Mental Health Services and Community Care

This critical interdisciplinary study charts the modern history of mental health services, reflects upon the evolution of care in communities, and considers the most effective policies and practices for the future.

Starting with the development of community care in the 1960s, Cummins explores the political, economic, and bureaucratic factors behind the changes and crises in mental health social care, returning to those roots to identify progressive principles that can pave a sustainable pathway forward.

This is a groundbreaking contribution to debates about the role, values, and future of community care, and is vital reading for students, teachers, and researchers in the field of social work and mental health.

“Cummins carefully unpicks the threads underpinning the development of community care and its consequences. This will be of value to those interested in learning from past failures to improve mental health services in the future.” Kathryn Karban, University of Bradford

Ian Cummins is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Society at the University of Salford.

Introduction

Community care: a brief overview

The asylum and the community

Inquiries

Deinstitutionalisation and the penal state

Reform or revolution? Mental health legislation and the development of community care

International perspectives

Neoliberalism, advanced marginality and mental health

Conclusion