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Helping community mental health work: A model for the professional role of liaison
Author(s) -
Heath Bernard H.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(198110)9:4<331::aid-jcop2290090410>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - mental health , agency (philosophy) , referral , service delivery framework , perspective (graphical) , work (physics) , service (business) , nursing , community health , social work , medicine , community service , public relations , psychology , psychiatry , sociology , public health , political science , business , engineering , mechanical engineering , social science , marketing , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
Community mental health centers were created to provide mental health services within the community. However, these centers have had difficulty delivering community‐based services and have, all too often, become isolated from the communities they serve. A model for the role of professional liaison is presented. The liaison model is seen as providing a solution to service delivery problems by acting as an adjunctive agency providing broadly based referral and linking services between agencies in the community. Essential features of the liaison role include an ecological perspective, indirect service delivery, an emphasis on liaison role rather than technique, and the inappropriateness of advocacy.