Timeline of the Process of Deinstitutionalization

By s_cawking

  • Congress passed the Mental Health Act

    This established The National Institute of Mental Health was created to find localized and community-based treatments for mental health

  • The Food and Drug Administration approved chlorpromazine

    The Food and Drug Administration approved chlorpromazine (‘Thorazine’) the first effective antipsychotic medication to treat psychotic episodes.

  • Congress passed the Mental Health Study Act of 1955

    This established the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health in response to the number of patients in mental hospitals peaking

  • “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kasey was published.

    Changes perspectives on the treatment of patients in institutions, such as electroshock therapy, lobotomies, etc

  • President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act

    The goal was to create community-based mental health facilities to provide better treatment for patients

  • President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1956

    This developed federal Medicaid and Medicare, government provided health insurance

  • By 1977, only 650 community centers had been built.

    This was less than half of the goal (1,500-2,000).They served 1.9 million patients and were beginning to get overcrowded.

  • President Jimmy Carter signed the Mental Health Systems Act

    This money was used to fund more community health centers.

  • President Ronald Reagan repealed the Mental Health Systems Act

    This decreased funding to mental health centers and reallocated the funds to other federal programs.

  • The Food and Drug Administration approved clozapine to treat schizophrenia.

    Helped remove stigma around mental health issues.

  • The Great Recession

    The Great Recession caused a $4.35 billion cut in mental health spending until 2012.