The transition from mental hospital based to community based psychiatry

The reformation of psychiatry has been a central topic in health planning and care in most industrialized countries during the last decades. A short review of the political, professional and other forces behind this development is done. A short history of the development in Sweden is given as an example of the general tendencies in this change and the actors involved. There is now a rapidly growing scientific basis for the psychiatric service with a definite shift into a community based orientation. It is concluded that early intervention and prevention will be in focus for the development during the next decades.