The primary objective of the community mental health center is to provide much-needed direct clinical care of the mentally ill; from this basic program there follows a natural development of consultative and educational community programs. The author warns against seeking quick solutions through over-commitment to broad social problems, which wastes professional staff and is both expensive and unfruitful, thus causing public disillusionment and endangering the whole community psychiatry program. He stresses the need to use other mental health workers to supplement limited psychiatric personnel.Abstract Teaser