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First state hospital for the mentally ill opened in the U.S. in Williamsburg, Virginia. Conditions were cruel and harsh.
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Dorothea Dix documented years of research of the terrible conditions people with mental illnesses were living in. This created state-funded asylums across the U.S.
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She was the first social worker to enter the mental health field of practice at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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As Freudian theory was gaining popularity, mental health clinics began hiring many social workers to provide psychotherapy.
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A strong force called the AAPSW was founded, which later merged with NASW in 1955. This caused a huge growth of the social work profession
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Army hospitals resulted in a huge need and expansion for mental health social services, with over 1 million people having neuropsychiatric disorders being admitted. VA hospitals became the largest employers for social workers.
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Provided grants for construction of community mental health facilities to treat people with chronic mental illness. It defined the concept of continuum care.
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A consumer movement with the goal of improving the lives of those with mental illnesses. Has affiliate offices in all 50 states as of today.
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Clinton signed the Mental Health Bill of Rights which was a set of principles to ensure that basic consumer rights were met.
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Laws that were passed that required insurance plans to extend coverage to care for mental health and addiction disorders.
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An easy to remember three-digit number was officially implemented that all providers were required to activate.