Research Handbook on Mental Health Policy

This Research Handbook is an essential guide to the design and use of research in mental health policy from a global perspective. It focuses on public mental health, as well as quasi-public and private policies in nations with significant private sectors. Expert contributors explore key mental health policies pertinent to psychiatric treatment and care, as well as those concerned with substance abusers and forensic patients. Organised into five parts, the Research Handbook addresses a wide array of mental health questions involving particular interventions and policies, ranging from psychiatric deinstitutionalization to system building, mental health law, and the human rights of mental patients. In addition, it considers the pros and cons of both established and emerging research methodologies, including geographic information systems and predictive analytics, and ways that these can be effectively integrated with policy making systems, along with their political, economic, and socio-cultural environments. This authoritative Research Handbook will be a key resource for scholars and students of mental health policy, social policy and welfare states. It will also be beneficial for policymakers and practitioners involved in public and private mental health programs.