BEHIND THE SCENES IN COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH
HERBERT DORKEN PH.D.1
1 Deputy Director, Liaison and Prevention, Dept. of Mental Hygiene, Sacramento, Calif.
Comprehensive community mental health programs follow the pattern of public health philosophy which places the need for community service paramount to individual considerations. Public support and professional participation are seen as the cornerstones of such a program, but both the social and professional aspects are influenced by factors which we tend to overlook. In the community mental health field we have been all too prone to develop services without consideration to solving the vast community problems created by a wide range of disordered behavior. Proper integration and control of local services could have a preventive impact. This must become the ultimate goal, for without it, there is no solution.
