deinstitutionalization
dee-in-stih-too-shuh-nuh-li-ZAY-shun
Definition
The process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability.
Etymology
The word is formed from the prefix 'de-' (indicating removal or reversal), 'institutionalization' (the process of placing someone in an institution), and the suffix '-tion' (marking the noun form of an action). It gained prominence in the mid-20th century as social policies shifted away from centralized residential confinement.
In the news
The article uses the term to describe the historical 1960s shift from state-run asylums to community-based care, noting that it failed not because the ideals were wrong, but because the necessary funding and support infrastructure never materialized.
MAHA is rewriting the vocabulary of American mental health care
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