Abstract

ens in their own health care is seen as critical to their recovery from mental illness and to their moving out of costly intensive service settings and into less costly community settings. The alternative name for managed care is collaborative care. Collabonativc care does not gloss oven the fact that involuntary commitment and forced treatment do occur, but these procedures must not define the philosophy of the mental health care delivery system. A very small minoricy of people with severe mental illness are a danger to themselves onothers for a very bniefamount of time in their lives. As a rule, people with severe mental illness should be perceived as capable of being meaningfully involved in choosing the kinds obcarc that arc best for them. Health care providers collaborate with, rather than manage, people with sevene mental illness. Consumer choice is a critical ingrcdicnt of effective, meaningful, and less costly mental health care. My guess is that consumers themselves will choose less costly, less intensive mental health came if given the opportunity to choose and if the less costly options are made available. A mentality of collaborative care, rather than managed care, can help ensure that these opportunities arc