COMMUNITY MENTAL-HEALTH - CORPSE OR PHOENIX - PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON AN ERA

The death of community mental health practice has been predicted for many years. In the United States, the community mental health era began in the mid-19th century. However, the movement reached its height, conceptually and programmatically, in the national program of the 1960s and 1970s. Ideological shifts have led to its decline since that time. Nevertheless, the contributions of the community mental health movement have permeated the current service structure, and the future rise of more community mental health activities appears inevitable. These trends are traced in a personal odyssey through the era.