Deinstitutionalization Reconsidered: Geographic and Demographic Changes in Mental Health Care in British Columbia and Alberta, 1950-1980

Abstract

Using demographics on admission to, and discharge from, mental hospitals in Alberta and British Columbia, this paper analyzes the social process commonly framed as deinstitutionalization between 1950 and 1980. A focus on the two most western Canadian provinces permits an exploration of these changes in these regional contexts. Pressured by new funding arrangements, a shift towards community care, and growing criticism of the alleged oppressive nature of large institutions, the three main mental hospitals scaled down as of the 1950s. This trend did not mean, however, that the overall number of hospitalized patients decreased during this time period. The total number of hospitalizations, particularly short-term admissions, actually expanded, while trans-institutionalization also occurred. This case study mirrors larger trends of postwar mental health care, illustrating the social, political, and cultural challenges experienced in the reconstruction of institutional care.