The discovery of various psychotropic medications in the 1950s was a major milestone in the treatment of mental illness.  It meant hope for those who had been in treatment for several years, both in-patient and outpatient.  To find out that some mental illnesses may have a biological cause rather than the Freudian belief of some unconscious difficulty/trauma provided an alternate explanation for those who were finding little or no relief in therapy.  In addition, hundreds of people were released from mental institutions with the idea that local community mental health agencies would take over whatever treatment was still needed for them.     
Go to the OER Website: https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/46663-abnormal-psychology/view

• • Read in Unit 1 “What are Psychological Disorders?” and “History of Mental Illness.”

Search online for the “effect of deinstitutionalization on treatment of mentally ill in America.”


Consider the effect of de-institutionalization on treatment for the mentally ill.


Prepare to engage in discussion on how de-institutionalization has been a good decision and how has it proven to be a challenge for treatment of the mentally ill.
Quoting or paraphrasing from any source in discussion posts requires APA format by including an in-text citation and listing the reference at the end of the post.  You can find proper formatting for your reference page under “Required Texts” in the syllabus.