Summary of A Strategic Plan for Documenting Mental Health in New York State
Welcome to this brief summary of A Strategic Plan for Documenting Mental Health in New York State. Mental health is a large, varied topic, and the documentation of historical records is a complex undertaking. The size and complexity are reflected in the full version of the guide, so this brief synopsis will give you an overview of the main points. Both versions will be useful for people with different degrees of experience with mental health and historical records. The full version provides summaries of the documentation priorities, examples of various kinds of documentation projects, and a description of the methodology used to create the plan which is adaptable for regional documentation planning. You may download an html version of the full guide or visit the Guides to Historical Records section of the Publications area to obtain a PDF or print copy of full guide.
Table of Contents
- Why it's important to document mental health
- Developing a documentation plan
- Summary of mental health documentation priorities
and goals
- Document the experiences of people who receive mental health services.
- Document the experiences of family members and others close to people with psychiatric histories.
- Document the functions and services of mental health support and advocacy organizations and consumer/survivor/ex-patient groups
- Document significant approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
- Document the mental health and related services provided by institutions, organizations, and individuals and the training and personal experiences of service providers.
- Document the policies and legislation that have defined, influenced, and funded mental health services.
- Document societal attitudes toward mental health issues and people with psychiatric histories
- Where to look for more records
- Actions to improve mental health documentation
- Next steps
