ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on social values relevant to the treatment of mental illness: collective responsibility; ‘serving the people’ and sharing; the minimization of elitism; and reaffirmation of faith in the human ability to transcend difficulties. It presents a study of an innovative, collective approach to promoting mental health which has emerged in a society with a relatively coherent, overall ideology which can be understood by us in terms of the concept of social self. The chapter is concerned with only the collective approach, for it is a prominent feature in contemporary Chinese psychiatric practice that involves people at all levels of society. One of the major new social values in China is collective or social responsibility. This is reflected in the implementation of a program to integrate the mental hospital with the community. Conscious human efforts are very important in modifying human motivations and behavior.
