The burden of mental illness on individuals, families, and communities has created profound challenges for our society. In recent years treatments and services for the mentally ill have moved almost exclusively to community settings, yet no comprehensive and progressive policies have emerged to counter stigmatizing and facilitate integration.

Applied Research and Evaluation in Community Mental Health Services brings together a range of professionals in mental health services - nurses, economists, policy analysts, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, and lawyers - to provide concise overviews of the difficulties and successes of the mental health community. Contributors deal with issues such as housing, employment support, violence prevention, program oversight, and emergency and collaborative care, providing useful prescriptions for better treatment of mental illness.