Abstract
A fundamental contradiction exists between the community mental health ideal and economic reality. As a result, community mental health centers are being forced to restructure their delivery systems. One center recentralized outpatient services by closing a clinic. The planning, decision-making, and implementation or the decision are analyzed. The administrator's role in bringing about such structural change is ideological, political, and technical.
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Additional information
Thomas W. Weirich, Ph.D., is Senior Researcher at the John F. Kennedy CMHC and Clinical Associate Professor at Hahnemann Medical College. Sherri N. Sheinfeld- Gorin, Ph.D., is a Research Associate with Warner-Amex QUBE and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Ohio State. The authors wish to acknowledge the support and cooperation of Drs. A.A. Arce and M. Vergare, and the excellent research assistance of Linda Deuschle, Leslie Garrett, and Deborah Sklaver. Requests for reprints may be addressed to Dr. Weirich at the John F. Kennedy CMHC, 112 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.
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Weirich, T.W., Sheinfeld-Gorin, S.N. Recentralization of mental health services: Closing an outpatient clinic. Administration in Mental Health 10, 124–135 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00823627
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00823627