The Palgrave Handbook of American Mental Health Policy, 1st ed. 2020

This handbook is the definitive resource for understanding current mental health policy controversies, options, and implementation strategies. It offers a thorough review of major issues in mental health policy to inform the policy-making process, presenting the pros and cons of controversial, significant issues through close analyses of data. Some of the topics covered are the effectiveness of various biomedical and psychosocial interventions, the role of mental illness in violence, and the effectiveness of coercive strategies. The handbook presents cases for conditions in which specialized mental health services are needed and those in which it might be better to deliver mental health treatment in mainstream health and social services settings. It also examines the balance between federal, state, and local authority, and the financing models for delivery of efficient and effective mental health services. It is aimed for an audience of policy-makers, researchers, and informed citizens that can contribute to future policy deliberations. 

Howard H. Goldman is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, USA.

Richard G. Frank is the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, USA.

Joseph P. Morrissey is Research Professor in Health Policy and Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, USA.

Presents key topics and controversies in mental health policy together with issues of funding, implementation, and other practical concerns

Gathers contributions from leading experts under the editorship of three influential researchers from the former MacArthur Foundation Network on Mental Health Policy Research

Appeals to students and scholars in public policy, public health, medicine, social work, psychology, sociology and economics, as well as policymakers at the federal, state, and local level