by Donna Carroll Batton

Created on: September 20, 2009

The segment of society many folks are happy to forget about is the mentally ill. While sympathy is easily summoned for the physically ill, the poor, the abused and neglected, those with serious mental illness are often shut off from society and left to dwell in a lonely, confused world.

Before the concept of deinstitutionalism was embraced people with serious mental illness and even those with less serious mental impairments were simply locked up in mental hospitals and institutions. Little hope was seen for a cure and we didn't know how to handle mentally ill patients.

This all changed with the passing of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963 when it was found that people were locked up in institutions who were not mentally ill but suffered from a variety of other conditions such as substance abuse. It was also brought to light that the use of straight jackets, cattle prods and lobotomies were not effective treatments for mental illness.

This Act eventually resulted in thousands of mentally ill patients being released from these institutions. According to Progressive.org, Deinstitutionalization of Mentally Ill in America there were 413,066 beds in mental hospitals in the United States in 1970. By 1988 this number decreased to 119,000 and by 1988 it was only 63,526 beds. Where did all these patients go?

It was planned that the mentally ill would be absorbed into community services and programs to safeguard their well-being. However, the number of social programs and services fell far short of meeting the needs of the mentally ill who were no longer safely housed in mental hospitals.

Mental illness encompasses many conditions including depression, anxiety, phobia, anger management, behavioral problems, antisocial behavior, retardation and schizophrenia. Many of these illnesses are treated successfully outside a hospital environment. Over the past decade research has developed many medications, which help stabilize the mental state of those suffering from conditions like depression, anxiety and many others. However, the safety and well-being of patients is directly dependant upon the patient taking his/'her medications as directed and following medical directives. Herein lies the greatest problem.

Many mentally ill patients are not consistent with medications and fail to keep medical appointments and sessions with counselors. Many more abuse alcohol and/or drugs rendering the prescribed medications ineffective or even dangerous. While physically

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