community mental health
activities undertaken in the community, rather than in institutional settings, to promote mental health. The community approach focuses on the total population of a single catchment area and involves overall planning and demographic analyses of the area’s mental health needs. It emphasizes preventive services (e.g., by identifying sources of stress within the community) and seeks to provide a continuous, comprehensive system of services designed to meet the mental health needs in the community. Mental health is approached indirectly through consultation and education, with emphasis on such strategies as brief psychotherapy and crisis intervention and on using such workers as paraprofessionals and indigenous mental health workers.