Supporting People with a Mental Handicap in the Community: A Social Psychological Perspective

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Abstract
Community care is a key concept in policy-making and service provision for people with a mental handicap. Yet the nature of the ‘community’ and the source of ‘care’ referred to is rarely specified. The meaning of ‘community’ is examined in relation to sociological and social psychological research and the assumption that geographical proximity promotes shared identity and caring relationships is called into question. It is argued that an emphasis on place and nostalgic notions of neighbourliness can obscure the difficult social psychological work of creating relationships within which people with a mental handicap can develop positive social and personal identities. The paper emphasises the importance of such relationships and argues that, for many people with a mental handicap, spontaneous local contact will not provide adequate levels of support and involvement. The creation of artificially maintained supportive networks is recommended and the resource implications of achieving good-quality care in the community are noted.

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