Services for people with mental retardation and psychiatric disorders: US-UK comparative overview

Mental health services for people with mental retardation have been receiving greater attention over recent years following a long period of inactivity. The main policy factors which influenced the developments of services were in the USA, the emphasis on deinstitutionalisation and normalisation, and in the UK the focus on social care. Progress in the assessment of psychiatric disorders and improved diagnostic techniques have stimulated the development of a wide range of mental health services for people with mental retardation, compatible with current ideology of community care on both sides of the Atlantic. Specialist multidisciplinary, community based and easily accessible mental health services should be available for people with mental retardation. Economic cost, quality of care, and training of professionals and direct care staff, remain some of the challenges faced by purchasers and providers of mental retardation and mental health services in both countries.