ABSTRACT
The term ‘severe mental illness’ (SMI) brings together two complex concepts. The first is defined in terms o f five groups o f disorders from the International Classification o f Diseases (ICD):
• schizophrenic and delusional disorders • mood (affective) disorders, including depressive, manic and bipolar forms • neuroses, including phobic, panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders • behavioural disorders, including eating, sleep and stress disorders • personality disorders of eight different kinds.
