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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

The evolution of community-based psychiatric rehabilitation in China: achievements, barriers, and future directions

Evolution of community-based mental health rehabilitation in china: achievements, barriers, and future directions

Although psychiatric rehabilitation in China has shifted from institutional care to a community-integrated service model, the model remains predominantly biomedical, with functional recovery and social participation receiving less attention.

The talk critically examines China's transition over the past decade from institutional psychiatric rehabilitation to a community-integrated service model. Since the enactment of the National Mental Health Law and the expansion of the 686 Program, a national program providing ongoing monitoring and intervention for psychotic disorders, the country has established an extensive grid-based management system and extended basic follow-up coverage to millions of registered patients with severe mental disorders. Despite legislative and infrastructure advances, the system is described as struggling to achieve meaningful integration: the current model remains predominantly biomedical, focusing on symptom control and medication adherence while often overlooking functional recovery and social inclusion. Structural barriers include a severe shortage of community mental health professionals, pronounced rural–urban inequalities in access to services, and the heavy caregiving burden borne by families because of inadequate social support networks. Stigma and low mental health literacy further hinder community reintegration. A medical–social integration model is proposed for the next phase of reform, alongside calls to professionalize multidisciplinary community teams that extend beyond psychiatrists, leverage digital health technologies (mHealth) to bridge gaps in underserved areas, and promote a recovery-oriented culture that prioritizes patients' rights and vocational rehabilitation. The presentation offers insights into adapting global mental health standards to the circumstances of rapidly modernizing societies.

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