This paper focuses on recent legislation providing special services and provisions for mentally retarded persons in Sweden. The paper describes the legislation's goal in normalizing their lives, the types of residential placements available, their educational and vocational activities, and their mental health problems. (JDD)

Two reviewers present divergent points of view concerning a book that provides a comprehensive overview of the field of wilderness therapy. The first reviewer sees the book as valuable in bridging the gap between the mental health profession and outdoor experiential education, whereas the second reviewer suggests that the book gives ambiguous…

Identifies historical roots, public policy evolution, and legislative mandates relevant to schools meeting students' mental health needs and creating a school-family effort. To promote acceptance, the linkage between school systems and family systems theory is explained. Assessment and intervention strategies are described. (JBJ)

A stratified probability sample of 4,745 adults in Colorado was surveyed to determine the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services. Findings that variation in need prevalence across 48 subareas of the state substantially challenge the assumptions of a uniform rate of need in a state. (SLD)

This article outlines problems associated with large mental hospitals, describes how knowledge gained from these problems can be used to create alternative treatment programs, and introduces the papers in this special issue on community-based treatment programs for individuals with developmental disabilities. (JDD)

This brief history of feminism in clinical psychology traces the movement from its early criticism of the mental health establishment through the gender role issues of the present. Feminist innovations in theory are detailed, and feminists are urged to concentrate on issues of gender and power. (SLD)

Describes developmental and behavioral characteristics of homeless young children and their parents. Reports on how states and communities are attempting to meet the early education and care of young children in homeless families. Discusses the needs or problems that early education and care programs that include homeless children should address.…

Development, implementation, and evaluation of a treatment program for 222 violent criminal offenders with alcohol abuse or alcoholism are described. Evaluation of the program, with quasi-experimental techniques, shows that active program clients engage in fewer violent crimes and show improved life functioning in employment and social adjustment…

Explores how difficult it is for a non-Indian to obtain an accurate view of American Indians. Helping professionals are not immune; they also have absorbed the views of the dominant culture. The author's work with the Oglala Lakota people of South Dakota illustrates the difficulties that therapists face. (SLD)

Investigates the effect of a school-based early mental health intervention program on school adjustment, using a wait-control design, for elementary grade students. The intervention was found to significantly lessen teachers' perception of student shyness, anxiety, and learning problems. It also increased perceived assertive social skills, task…

Discusses how academic social science librarians can select appropriate materials on mental health topics. Topics include characteristics of mental health systems and how they relate to collection development; relationships between employment opportunities for therapists and severity of mental illness; and controversies related to therapy and…

This introductory article provides an overview of the national evaluation conducted within the original 22 grantee communities funded from 1993 to 1999. The history and underlying foundations of the evaluation are presented. Specific evaluation questions and components are outlined, and issues that evolved out of the evaluation process are…

A survey of 37 system-of-care sites constituting 31 programs for children with serious mental health challenges found high family participation in such activities as modification of questionnaires, collecting data, and reviewing results. Low family participation was reported in the hiring of staff and data processing. Most families were…

Examines the development and implementation of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program (PHHP), a community research and demonstration project in Pawtucket (Rhode Island) focusing on PHHP's school intervention project, designed to help decrease the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among the students and staff of Pawtucket schools. (MDM)

Examines APPAL-LINK, the Southwestern Virginia Telepsychiatry Project. The project uses state-of-the-art telemedicine equipment to link a state psychiatric hospital with two rural, isolated community mental health center programs. Provides an overview of telemedicine and discusses the problems, opportunities, and future of the project. (MJP)