The collective approach to psychiatric practice in the People's Republic of China.

This paper describes and analyzes the effects of the dramatic changes of social values in China on the approach to treatment of the mentally ill since the 1949 revolution. It is mainly based on observations, interviews, and experiences in mental hospitals during three recent trips to the People's Republic of China. Attention here is focused on the effects of four new social values on psychiatric practice: first, the value of collective responsibility as reflected in the new program to integrate mental hospitals with the community; second, the application of the value of sharing and "serving the people" to methods of psychiatric therapy; third, the value of "minimization of elitism" as practiced in the role relationships among members of different categories in mental hospitals; and fourth, the reaffirmation of faith in human ability to conquer difficulties, as shown in changes of patients' outlook on life and behavior. Finally, the implications of this alternative approach on our established assumptions and methods of psychiatric therapy in the West are discussed, and the future direction of theoretical formulation is suggested.