Research into the causes of and treatment for mental illness was underfunded and poorly focused. National plans now exist for research on schizophrenia, child and adolescent mental illnesses, and mental health services. Aggressive research agendas in neuroscience and genetics are not priorities. Large state and smaller private psychiatric hospitals were virtually the only sites for treatment of server mental illness. Patients were isolated from their families and friends.
Most treatment takes place in the community.
Many clinicians believed that severe mental illnesses were caused by family dysfunction and were treatable with lengthly psychoanalysis. Healthcare providers now recognize that severe mental illnesses are brain disorders that can be treated effectively with breakthrough medications and support services. Insurance coverage for mental illnesses was virtually nonexistent. The federal government and a majority of states now require at least some level of healthcare coverage for mental illnesses. Mental illnesses were heavily shrouded by stigma and shame.