February 19, 2023
The campaign for mental health reform led pioneering former patients and lawyers to challenge coercive involuntary treatments warehousing people in state psychiatric hospitals. However, as thousands of patients were released without accompanying justice and services, political neglect sent them into the streets. Currently, despite broader knowledge of services and treatments these challenges remain: How do we invest in a mental health system that promotes equity, social justice, and the voice of those with lived experience, to ensure dignity, choice, and community integration, for recovery-oriented, person-centered opportunities?
Phyllis Vine is an historian, educator, and award-winning author, specializing in the history of health care. She has taught at Barnard, Sarah Lawrence, and Union College, and is widely published in peer-reviewed journals. Her most recent book, “Fighting for Recovery: An Activists’ History of Mental Health Reform” was released in 2022.