The primary objective of this book is to provide comprehensive descriptions and make comparative evaluations of each of the mental health systems of four Western, industrialized countries. The countries selected illustrate a continuum from a highly centralized and publicly financed, national health service in Great Britain to a predominantly decentralized and more privately financed market of mental health services in the United States. In between these two contrasting types are examples of national health services and insurance programs in Norway and Canada. Contributing experts from each cou