Mental Health Services and Community Care: A Critical History

This critical interdisciplinary study charts the modern history of mental health services, reflects upon the evolution of care in communities and considers the most effective policies and practices for the future. Starting with the development of community care in the 1960s, Cummins explores the political, economic and bureaucratic factors behind the changes and crises in mental health social care since, returning to those roots to identify progressive principles that can pave a sustainable pathway forward. This is a ground-breaking contribution to debates about the role, values and future of community care and is vital reading for students, teachers and researchers in the field of social work and mental health.