Roberts C A
Queensway-Carleton Hospital, Ottawa.
Can J Psychiatry. 1989 May;34(4):291-8. doi: 10.1177/070674378903400405.
The history of mental health services in Canada has been characterized by great frustration for those dedicated to the development of programs to meet the needs of the mentally ill. Acceptance of these services by the public at large has been limited and characterized by suspicion and lack of trust. In recent decades these two trends have contributed to the present situation in which it is difficult to recruit competent, well-motivated clinical staff for our more isolated mental hospitals and there is increasing emphasis on legalistic aspects of individual civil rights, compulsory treatment and related factors with little attention to the patient's entitlement to and need for adequate treatment. It is hypothesized that more understanding and progress may come from an insightful review of the historical development of Canadian Mental Health Services and the goals of organized Psychiatry in Canada than will result from developing a defensive and confrontational attitude towards current events in the field.
加拿大心理健康服务的历史，对于那些致力于发展满足精神病患者需求项目的人来说，一直充满了巨大的挫折。广大公众对这些服务的接受程度有限，其特点是怀疑和缺乏信任。近几十年来，这两种趋势导致了目前的局面：在我们较为偏远的精神病院，很难招募到有能力、积极性高的临床工作人员；人们越来越强调个人公民权利、强制治疗及相关因素的法律层面，而很少关注患者获得充分治疗的权利和需求。据推测，对加拿大心理健康服务的历史发展以及加拿大有组织的精神病学目标进行富有洞察力的审视，可能会带来比针对该领域当前事件采取防御性和对抗性态度更多的理解和进步。
