Development of a sustainable community mental health program in a remote region: the Austral Institute for Mental Health

This paper described a community-based rehabilitation program in a remote region of Argentina. The program is located in Neuquén Province, in the Patagonia region. At the time it was initiated, about 20 years ago, the province had an excellent system of primary care, but one in which mental disorders were neglected. There were only a few psychiatrists in the province, and none involved in community care of people with severe mental disorders. Starting from this point, the "Austral" program was developed by making use of the local resources (such as primary care doctors) that were available, and it later earned a reputation as a model program.In 2012, Neuquén became a site of the RedeAmericas, a National Institute of Mental Health funded regional mental health network in Latin America