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Beyond Paternalism or Abandonment in Mental Health Care: An Interview with Neil Gong

Mad in America

Neil’s new book, “Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics: Mental Illness and Homelessness in Los Angeles,” published by the University of Chicago Press, offers a detailed look into the starkly different worlds of mental health care in Los Angeles. How do these disparate systems reflect our societal values?

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Maryland Enacts a “Draconian” Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program

Mad in America

I n 1999, New York State passed the first Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) law, which creates a regime of civil courts to force psychiatric interventions on those found to have “serious and persistent mental illness” who “struggle to engage voluntarily” with care. What made this year different?

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From Public Service to Private Practice: The Collapse of the Social Work Profession

Mad in America

T he social work profession was historically rooted in a mission of improving the lives of the vulnerable, the oppressed, and those living in poverty. Social work originated with the Settlement House movement as a response to the increasing poverty brought about by industrialization. They seem to have been onto something.