Comprehensive services in the community for the chronic mental patient: one program's experience

A major shortcoming of community mental health programs has been their limited success with chronic patients. This paper describes how one mental health center has addressed this problem by creating an administratively autonomous treatment program exclusively for chronic patients. The organization, staffing, and activities of the program's treatment and community support services are outlined. The program's day treatment component and interdisciplinary treatment team concept are detailed. The program has had success in creating and coordinating community-based services, in maintaining continuity of care, in sustaining high staff morale and commitment, and in integrating former state hospital staff into a community setting.