137 In sociology, the term refers to a movement that advocates the transfer of mentally disabled people from public to private institutions back to their families, or into communitybased homes. A paternalistic approach influenced by religion that aimed at removing any type of coercion. Commonly known as Legge Basaglia from the name of the psychiatrist who promoted it. The last asylum, San Niccol in Siena, closed in 1999. Franco Basaglia asylum: manicomio discharged: dimesso funding: finanziamento neglectful: incurante outpatient: (qui) paziente con visite ambulatoriali overcrowded: sovraffollato 278 SOCIETy HElpS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES A social service for the community is also that of looking after patients diagnosed with a mental disorder. Once, these patients were taken care of in asylums, but, with the passing of time, these long-stay psychiatric hospitals were replaced with less isolated community mental health services in a process called deinstitutionalisation . Asylums in the 19th and early 20th century The 19th century saw a large expansion in the number and size of asylums in western industrialised countries. Originally based on moral treatment , they soon became big, non-therapeutic, isolated in location, and often neglectful of patients. By the beginning of the 20th century, the asylums were overcrowded, and funding was often cut in periods of economic crisis and wartime. They frequently had poor living conditions, lack of hygiene, and patients suffered abuse. Toward deinstitutionalisation The first community-based alternatives were suggested and implemented in the 1920s and 1930s, although asylums continued to exist until the 1950s and 1960s, when the deinstitutionalisation campaign continued in various countries thanks to the advent of antipsychotic drugs. The first country in the world which definitely closed asylums was Italy with Law 180 , passed in 1978. In the UK, the policy of deinstitutionalisation was called Care in the Community, and the large-scale closure of the old asylums began in the 1980s and lasted until 2010, with the closure of Runwell Hospital. Forms of deinstitutionalisation In Europe, particularly in Italy and the United Kingdom, the forms taken by deinstitutionalisation have been numerous and diverse, such as: alternating periods in the institution and in the community; hosting programmes in the institutions themselves, such as counselling, talk therapy, and support groups; creating work cooperatives. For or against deinstitutionalisation? There is no clear-cut support for deinstitutionalisation. Here are a few arguments pro and against it. Supporters of deinstitutionalisation Supporters of psychiatric hospitals Deinstitutionalisation is the right solution, but there is: Patients are now often: a lack of financial resources; ill-treated; a lack of coordination among the community services; limited in their social contacts; difficulty in meeting the complex needs of patients. even more unhappy; unemployed; discharged without sufficient preparation and support; left to the care of their families; often homeless.