Psychiatric reform in Greece: an overview

Abstract

Leros became infamous worldwide in the 1980s because of a scandal in its mental institution, the Leros asylum. The scandal provoked universal outrage and the international pressure triggered the Greek mental health reform. Under the reform projects Leros I and Leros II (1990–1994), numerous interventions took place in the Leros asylum as part of deinstitutionalisation. Following that, the Psychargos programme advanced developments for community-based services. Deinstitutionalisation and development of community mental health services have advanced significantly since the 1980s. However, this reform is still incomplete, given that sectorisation, adequate primary care policies, inter-sectoral coordination and specialised services are under-developed. This problematic situation is further complicated by the severe impact of the current financial crisis.