Change in locus of mental health care from traditional, institutional settings to community-based services. Sometimes called transinstitutionalization because it often merely shifts the patients from one institution (the hospital) to another (such as a prison).
The discharge of mental patients from mental institutions, with continued care to be provided in the community. This movement was made possible by the development of psychotropic drugs, which modify a patent’s behavior to such an extent that she is considered able to function within the community.
The placement of hospitalized psychiatric patients in the community in halfway houses, community mental health centers, residential hotels, group homes, or boarding houses.