ABSTRACT
Individual chapters have addressed here several diverse aspects of human sexuality and mental illness: overall, however, the normality of human sexuality and, thereupon, the appropriateness of sexual expression in persons with serious mental illness emerges as the unifying theme of this book. The stance of ‘benign neglect’ — that is, feigned professional ignorance of the needs and occurrence of sexuality in persons with mental illness — is no longer tenable. Moreover, this denial of sexuality is blatantly unrealistic since it is now clear that persons suffering with mental illness do and will become sexually active. Despite these observations, three major concerns still conspire to uphold the position of benign neglect.
