REINVENTING PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY - THE USE OF HISTORY

Over the last half-century progressives in community psychiatry have c hallenged the social order while addressing the needs of persons with psychiatric disorders. Recently, however, their vision and energy has faltered. A re-evaluation of the progressive position is essential, be ginning with a review of its historical experience. Unfortunately, mod ern psychiatry has become increasingly ahistorical. Those histories th at do exist reveal little about the experiences of progressive practic e and tend to attack it from the right or from the left. There is a tr emendous need to synthesize new socially-oriented histories of the pro gressive movement in community psychiatry.