3
-
Wednesday, September 19, 1973
THE IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION
The Deputy Director of Social Welfare, Mr. Thomas C.Y. Lee,
said today (Wednesday) ignorance about mental illness has led many
people to believe it is a frightening condition.
"Ignorance," he said, "breeds misunderstanding which leads to
fear, and fear again leads to ignorance. This is indeed a vicious
cycle,"
He said an isolated incident of a mad man in the street is
too often dramatised and overshadows the many other persons, similarly
afflicted yet harmless, who are just waiting to return to the
community, but who are being refused by those of us who can be in a
position to help.
He said the goal of psychiatric rehabilitation is the maximum
development of physical, mental, social and vocational potentiality of
the mentally disabled enabling them to become once again independent and
productive members of society.
帽
"Rehabilitation is especially important in the case of the
mentally ill, because of the often disrupted sequelae resulting from
their illness and because of the discrimination they suffer from it.'
Mr. Lee said helping the mentally ill to become a member of
society again was essential not just for humanitarian reasons alone.
"Psychiatric rehabilitation is also a sound economic invest-
ment for the community as well as for the patient and his family.
The cause of mental illness weighs heavily on every member of the
community.
"With paychiatric rehabilitation, a chronic schizophrenic
previously left vegetating in the closed ward of a large mental hospital
can now be helped to take up remunerative employment and can be useful
and productive."
Mr. Lee was...