ABSTRACT
The de jure national mental health policy in the United States is deinstitutionalization of hospitalized mental patients and the development of outpatient care through community mental health centers. The number of episodes in state and county mental hospitals fell from 819,000 in 1955 to 599,000 in 1975. These hospitals were the primary target of the deinstitutionalization effort. It is noteworthy that state and county mental hospitals handle more inpatient episodes than any other sites, although they are being rapidly overtaken by general hospital psychiatric units. The art of psychological assessment and diagnosis is nowhere near the level necessary to permit adequate matching as a quasi-experimental technique. The scientific tests involved tend to be quite pure, and perhaps difficult to generalize over a broad array of settings. Considerable national progress has been made in moving forward the policy of outpatient care and deinstitutionalization. However, one should consider the possibility of a policy of noninstitutionalization.
