Recent Advances in Community Psychiatry and Psychosocial Rehabilitation in Greece and the Other Southern European Countries

Abstract

During the late 1960s and early 1970s community psychiatry and the transformation of psychiatric services was introduced in several Northern European countries. ln Southern Europe, with the exception of Italy, changes in the mental health care delivery system regarding mental health legislation and decentralisation of services have only taken place since the mid-1980s. ln this report several issues related to developments in institutional and community psychiatric care in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain are presented. A comparison is provided between some socioeconomic and psychiatric morbidity indicators and the availability of alternative community based care and rehabilitation in these countries.