Deinstitutionalization Case

Deinstitutionalization is defined as the process of removing patients who are mentally ill from institutions and take them to the local community. The process of deinstitutionalization was designed with the aim that individuals experiencing mental illness are most likely to have a normal life when put with normal people in the community, than they could if they were locked up in a separate institution. Deinstitutionalization process was produced in order to reduce issues brought about by the insufficiency in hospitals and institutions and also to eliminate the expenses made on treatment of affected people. Therefore, the whole process was planned with the idea that the discharged patients will receive adequate support from the local community. The support was in terms of medication services, outreach programs, and other mental institutions. Deinstitutionalization has brought about positive improvements in the lives of many people, though there are those whom the changes have been a little more than a change of address.

Deinstitutionalization officially began around the 1950's. While some have suggested it was the result of availability of psychiatric medication, but the truth is reducing the number of people hospitalized for mental illness began many years ago due to overcrowding of hospitals and institutions. From the 1950's to 2000's the estimated number of hospitalized individuals have decreased from 500,000 to 150,000 throughout these years.

Was this movement ethical? I am not sure it was. A movement of such high endeavors requires much deliberation, time, and resources. These endeavors should be completed to the fullest, none of which occurred during the implementing of this policy. If the completion of the said endeavors were not possible, a discontinuation of the policy should have been realized. Because of the arbitrary way the policy was carried out, many people and communities endured hardships. Mental illness is a serious and more so than not, chronic condition which often requires psychiatric interventions. With the rise in psychological disorders and mental illnesses, we need to be building more psychiatric facilities not eradicating them. In my opinion, the deinstitutionalization movement was not the answer. I believe that we as a society have an obligation to take a stand in making sure that those who suffer with mental illness have the same opportunities as we do, to lead the best quality of life possible whether it is in the community or in a facility.

This excerpt is drawn from Chapters 1, 3 and the Appendix of: Out of the Shadows: Confronting America's Mental Illness Crisis by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997). This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.