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Recently I ran across a former employee that worked in the state pych hospital. We got to talking and she said that the hospital is now "a country club."    I've had the opportunity to speak to the patients and see the changes in the physical settings. The hospital of my day was never anything like it is now. It is a more comfortable setting. There are groups now. The turn is towards educating the patients.   Unfortunately the patients I spoke to, seem to NOT want help. There was a gentleman that I knew back in my day as a patient there, that is saying the same things he did 20 years ago.   I am torn by your question. I said before that I'm for institutionalization. There will always be a need for psych hospitals. Having seen the "inside" I wonder if they (the staff) are beating their heads, trying to help those people. The patients that I saw are there because there is no where else to keep them safe. WE called people like that "lifers."   The patients that I talked to were not receptive to help. 10 of them fell asleep. The rest were frustrated to be in that room listening to me.   So maybe it is a "country club."   There needs to be more community support. There used to be a community county run day program. When the money dropped out, the program was cut, leaving many MI's without any support.   I think that there needs to be housing, social, and educational support. But the bottom line is, there's not enough money.   It's sad that there's a price tag on the MI's.   Dave