Community treatment for the seriously mentally ill: is this community psychology?

Reviewed the study by Bond et al. (1990) on assertive community treatment (ACT) for the seriously mentally ill and raised questions as to why community psychologists have not been more involved in this research area. The relevance of ACT to community psychology was described in 6 areas: ecological approach, advocacy orientation, promotion of competence, prevention of psychopathology, integration of services, and systems theory. Three other areas were identified as critical for ACT and as domains in which community psychologists could provide future expertise: empowerment, research design, and community context effects. Community psychologists were challenged to reach out to the seriously mentally ill and demonstrate the relevance of this discipline to all disenfranchised persons.