The Jan. 6 editorial, 鈥淢entally ill need a better system,鈥� was much needed.
It seems to me that this could have been headed: 鈥淲hen mentally ill, we need a better system.鈥� In reality, the problem is ours. The editorial says that 鈥�50 years ago, the prospect [i.e., the present situation] would have shocked us.鈥� Indeed, none of us dreamed of the sad chaos on the streets of today.
In the late 1950s, Dr. Heinz Lehmann, then clinical director at the Douglas Hospital in Montreal, first introduced the major tranquillizers to Canada from Europe. It was a euphoric time in Canada 鈥� long-held boundaries were pushed back, optimism and almost unlimited creativity abounded. Patients hospitalized for 15 or 20 years were discharged to begin life again, but only with preparation in life skills and long-term support in the community. It was a time of unparalleled prosperity following on the heels of terrible war and the great Depression.
Was there great concern in the larger community at the mere idea that the 鈥渕ad鈥� should be in the community? Naturally. Were there the gravest reservations on the part of many hospital staff? Certainly. Long-term hospitalized patients were profoundly institutionalized.
As a worker from the 1960s onward in the field of rehabilitation, I am well aware of the immense courage and commitment from patients; the support, planning and ongoing care invested by non-professional staff; the guidance and teaching of some doctors and other professionals in the field of psychiatry; and last, but by no means least, the ongoing support of a group of deeply committed volunteers who, in their turn, were nurtured and supervised by professional workers who gave their time with wonderful generosity (there was no remuneration for this work).
At the same time, considerable resistance was met from some professionals and the larger community. (鈥淭hey鈥檒l all be back in six weeks鈥� and 鈥渨e shall be killed in our beds鈥� were not unusual comments). Yet we know now (and knew then) that people suffering from mental illness are statistically no more likely to commit acts of violence than healthy people. Unfortunately, this is not widespread public knowledge.
There is an enormous amount to be done, but it could be started at relatively little cost. It is unrealistic to imagine that the state can bear the burden of huge numbers of professional workers when, for example, one social worker supervising a small team of field workers who are equipped with sensitivity and good communication skills could accomplish a great deal.
It has been sad to observe the deterioration in community care. I do not believe that this could have been anticipated 30, 40 or 50听years ago when so many of the major hospitals for the mentally ill were closed or drastically reduced in size. Perhaps, like so many of the mentally ill, we too might find the courage to make a fresh start toward dynamic change.
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Lawrence A. Scyner, priest in charge at St. John the Divine Anglican Church in Victoria, works extensively in psychiatric facilities. Marcia Williams, a social worker at the Douglas Hospital in the 1960s, also contributed to this article.
