Mental Health Services and Community Care. Cummins, Ian
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND COMMUNITY CARE
A Critical History
Ian Cummins
First published in Great Britain in 2020 by
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ISBN 978-1-4473-5059-0 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-4473-5063-7 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-4473-5064-4 (ePub)
The right of Ian Cummins to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him
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In memory of Dr Jo Milner (1960–2018) My PhD supervisor Dr Jo Milner died in December 2018. I owe her a huge personal and professional debt. Jo was wonderfully supportive friend and colleague. Without her I would never have overcome the barriers to completing my thesis. She was committed to challenging injustice, inequality and discrimination in all forms wherever she encountered it. She was a supporter of the work of Freedom from Torture (www.freedomfromtorture.org/) This book is dedicated, with love, to her memory.
Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life or joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems;
Even the dearest that I loved the best
Are strange—nay, rather, stranger than the rest.
John Clare, ‘I Am’
Contents
About the author
Acknowledgements
1Introduction
2Community care: a brief overview
3The asylum and the community
4Inquiries
5Deinstitutionalisation and the penal state
6Reform or revolution? Mental health legislation and the development of community care
7International perspectives
8Neoliberalism, advanced marginality and mental health
9Conclusion
References
Index
Ian Cummins qualified as a probation officer and subsequently worked as a mental health social worker. His research interests in the criminal justice system and the history of mental health services reflect his practice experience. He has previously published Poverty, Inequality and Social Work: The Impact of Neo-liberalism and Austerity Politics on Welfare Provision with Policy Press in 2018 and Mental Health Social Work Reimagined with Policy Press in 2019.
My late mother worked incredibly hard to enable me to continue my education and take advantage of the opportunities that it offered. She passed on her love of books to me. I hope that she would have enjoyed this one. I owe a huge debt to my brother and my sisters for their love and support.
I would like to thank Isobel Bainton, Shannon Kneis and all the staff at Policy Press who have been unfailing supportive of this and other projects that I have undertaken. I am very grateful to the anonymous reviewers of the initial proposal and drafts of the book for their time and constructive suggestions. I am, of course, responsible for any failings, admissions or errors in the final version.
I regard myself as extremely lucky to have had the wonderful support and encouragement of colleagues and friends: Janet Chapman, Elizabeth Collier, David Edmondson, Akwugo Emejulu, Paul Michael Garrett, Maria Grant, Marian Foley, Jameel Hadi, Stephen Jones, Emma Kelly, Gavin Kendall, Martin King, Karen Kinghorn, Jane Lucas, David McKendrick, Bernard Melling, Lisa Morriss, Muzammil Quraishi, Kate Parkinson, Donna Peach, David Platten, Nick Platten, Sarah Pollock, Barry Schilling, Jonathan Simon, Imogen Tyler, Joanne Warner, Stephen Webb, Joanne Westwood, Toni Woods.
I am extremely grateful to Gavin Davidson, Hester Parr and Cheryl McGeachan all of whom took the time to read a draft of the book.
I completed this project during a period of study leave. I am grateful for the School of Health and Society at Salford for facilitating this. I would particularly like to thank Professor Joanne Westwood, who was very supportive of my initial application.
I have also enjoyed virtual support from @asifamhp, @SchrebersSister and @Mental_Elf