What it means
A system of services that helps people with mental illness live in their own communities. It includes community mental health centers, outpatient therapy and medication management, crisis lines and mobile crisis teams, case management, assertive community treatment teams, supported housing and peer support. In the US it grew after the 1963 Community Mental Health Act, as large psychiatric hospitals closed.
For the nurse
Community mental health nurses visit clients, give long-acting injections, watch for relapse and side effects, and link clients to housing, jobs and other help.
Related terms
referral
Sending a client to another professional, service or agency for care or help that they need.
bipolar disorder
A mental health condition with periods of very high mood and energy (mania) and, often, periods of depression.