Based on an empirical examination of psychiatric care both past and present,Asylum in the Community clearly defines the concept of asylum and shows how it can be provided effectively outside the hospital. Drawing on work in the USA, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and England, contributors analyse such services from both user and provider perspectives. From these analyses the editors establish the key elements that should be considered in developing contemporary community services for the mentally ill.
Asylum in the Community provides a balanced assessment of a controversial, topical issue for managers and providers of mental health services and those teaching or training in the mental health sciences.

Illustrations, Contributors, Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1. Asylums: Utopias and realities, 2. The decline of asylum or the poverty of the concept?, 3. Asylum and the community in Spain, 4. The appeal to madness in Ireland, 5. Law and the social uses of the asylum in nineteenth century Ireland, 6. The refuge function of psychiatric hospitals, 7. Haven within or without the hospital gate: A reappraisal of asylum provision in theory and practice, 8. The American, Flemish and British cases of asylum in the community, 9. Some models of asylum and help in times of crisis, 10. The Sanctuary project, Conclusion, Index