ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with a general theoretical discussion of the nature and importance of treatment ideologies and examines where treatment ideologies are acquired and the different sources of beliefs about mental health work. It looks at the specific treatment ideologies exhibited by the providers the author interviewed, and also examines the prevalence of diverse treatment ideologies in the two public sector organizations she studied in depth. The chapter focuses on the treatment ideologies of those in the public sector who work with clients with severe, persistent illnesses. It discusses that the typology of treatment ideologies developed in this chapter is not fixed and is not intended to represent all potential ideologies about the treatment of those with serious mental illness. The chapter describes the outcome of debates over the type of community mental health care that works best will be determined in part by the salience and support for the different treatment ideologies.
