HOME TREATMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

The present report refers to 60 cases seen in the first 15 months of a small Home Treatment Service. The doctor, accompanied by a social worker, functions as a general practitioner-psychiatrist, working primarily in the home and collaborating directly with community agencies. Inaccessible patients can be reached at home for either brief or long-term therapy, and families may be directly included in the treatment process. Appropriate alternatives to hospitalization can be worked out and numerous agencies helped to coordinate their function in helping a family. A Home Treatment Service also provides an opportunity for mental health education to families, doctors and social agencies around concrete situations and on a personal basis.