Beyond deinstitutionalization: a new ideology for the postinstitutional era

Abstract

The emergence of the young adult chronic patient, and the attendant perception that deinstitutionalization has failed, may be viewed as the inevitable result of the success of deinstitutionalization. Deinstitutionalization gave freedom to the mentally ill, but in doing so it left patients free to struggle on their own. The deinstitutionalization ideology failed to predict the difficult clinical reality that most patients do not readily choose the identity of chronic mental patient and are reluctant to make use of available treatment programs. The author presents the key principles of a new postinstitutional ideology that focuses on helping patients attain the best possible adaptation to their illness regardless of the setting in which they are treated. He hopes the ideology will infuse new hope and clinical expertise into work with people with chronic mental illness.