Posted on May 9, 2016 by Ann-Marie Louison in The New York Times The New York Times, By Ann-Marie Louison A small number of individuals with serious mental illnesses need long-term hospital care, but no one should need this level of care forever. In the 1990s, I worked as a social worker in a state-run mental health hospital of this kind in New York City; the patients received good care there. But back then, there were a fair number of patients that “lived” in the hospital for many years. Now, the focus of such treatment should always be to support each individual to return safely to his or her community, which, in turn, must have adequate support to address housing, treatment and the social needs of the individual.
