ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a few of the varied programs developed by community mental health and other resources of the community in response to unemployment and job loss. Community mental health centers have themselves played only a relatively minor role in addressing this individual, family, community, and social problem, and, despite the disruption of entire communities, have developed few programs to meet the mental health needs of displaced workers. An early aggregate study by M. H. Brenner did much to stimulate research on the psychological effects of unemployment. A methodology for analyzing mental health effects of unemployment emerged in from the development of a stress paradigm in the social and behavioral sciences. Unemployment was found to be one of the best predictors of emotional strain, with job loss and demotion to be two of the strongest predictors of depression.
