This book presents a comparative analysis of mental health policy in Western Europe and North America. It also considers how and why different policies have developed.

Simon Goodwin examines the transition from institutional to community-based models of care for people with mental health problems, identifying variations in the inception, pace and style in which community-based service provision has emerged in different countries. Goodwin also assesses the problems and issues that have arisen as a result of the shift towards more community-based systems of care and treatment, and argues that it is a policy made up of conflicting aims and purposes, which is reflected in its implementation.