A Statement of the Problem

While discussions of the magnitude of the mental health problem here in Iowa and throughout the United States are commonplace, the facts and figures concerning this problem are nevertheless still quite overwhelming. For example, the average daily resident population in Iowa publicly supported mental hospitals for 1956 was 5,200 persons, while the national average was 556,000 (1); these figures exclude persons in federally supported hospitals, private hospitals and those receiving only out-patient treatment. The total expenditures for the maintenance of these patient populations (excluding capital improvements) in 1956 was $6,900,000 in Iowa alone; the national total for 1956, again excluding the costs of federal hospitals, private hospitals, and out-patient care was $662,000,000 (1). These population statistics are rather stable for the past three years while the expenditures keep rising. Mental health is clearly a problem of tremendous importance at this time and there has been considerable discussion of how best to deal with this problem in public and professional circles