Deinstitutionalization, homelessness, and the myth of psychiatric abandonment: A structural anthropology perspective

Encounters with disturbed homeless persons have become an expected part of American urban life. Mental health professionals and the general public believe that the closing of public mental hospitals—“deinstitutionalization”—has caused homelessness, and that problems suffered and caused by the mentally ill homeless have resulted from American psychiatristsʹ abandonment of the patients who once were housed in large public mental institutions. This article suggests that the abandonment thesis should be regarded as a “myth” or sacred cultural tale that incorporates important themes in late 20th century American political culture. Psychiatrists can examine this myth and understand its meaning using analytical techniques elaborated by structural anthropologists.