Community treatment of the mentally ill: The promise of mutual-help organizations

The failure of deinstitutionalization is less a problem of what is known and more a problem of what is done. The literature on alternatives to hospitalization suggests that successful programs involve individually tailored, assertive, long-term support. Mutual-help organizations, which have the above-mentioned characteristics, are promising community treatment alternatives consistent with the original goals of deinstitutionalization and with current political and economic realities. One such organization, observed by a research team over a period of 5 years, is presented as an example.