Deinstitutionalization of Patients with Serious Mental Illness

Arguments for and against Deinstitutionalization of Patients with Serious Mental Illness
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Introduction
Mental illness involves health conditions that affect the emotional, thinking, and behavioral activities of the individual affected. Cases of mental illness are most of the time associated with depression and problems of functioning in social, employment, or activities within the family. Taking care of an individual with mental illness is difficult in most cases because of their attention. Some family members prefer taking the people living with mental illness to institutions that take care of them, while others prefer living at home. The decision to take a patient to a rehabilitation center depends on the condition of the patient as well as the financial condition of the family, as some would prefer to stay with the patients at home. This paper discusses the arguments for and against the deinstitutionalization of persons with serious mental illness.
Some of the importance of deinstitutionalization of patients with mental illness include independence and better quality of life outside the institutions. Patients in the institutions are confined in one place; therefore, their right of movement is curtailed. When they live at home with their families, their freedom of movement is assured, thus enjoying the same rights as healthy individuals. Additionally, patients living out of the institutions have reduced psychotropic medication compared to individuals in the institutions. They tend to feel like part of the community, which, to some extent, helps in the healing process.
Furthermore, taking care of patients ...