Contents: (I) Introduction; (II) Background: Mental Illness in the United States; History of Mental Health Care Delivery in the United States; Advances in Mental Health Treatment; (III) Current Mental Health Care Delivery System: Providers and Settings; Financing Mental Health Care; Quality of Care; (IV) Issues and Options for Congress: Evidence-Based Practices; Access to Care; Financing Mental Health Care; Coordination of Care; Quality of Care; (V) Conclusion. Figures.

Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.