JOINT COMMISSION ON
MENTAL ILLNESS AND HEALTH

Headquarters, Boston, Massachusetts
December 31, 1960

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress Assembled:

Pursuant to the provisions of section 304(b) of Public Law No. 182,
approved July 28, 1955, we have the honor to submit Action for
Mental Health, the Final Report of the Joint Commission on Mental
Illness and Health.

The Joint Commission received a mandate from Congress to
survey the resources and to make recommendations for combating
mental illness in the United States. An extensive study has been made
by experts under the sponsorship of the thirty-six organizations mak-
ing up the Commission. This study, while comprehensive, is not
exhaustive because of the nature of the problems involved. This final
volume contains a resumé of the findings and the recommendations.

Mental illness involves so many complexities—biological, chemical,
psychological, and social—that we do not presume to present wholly
definitive conclusions or universally approved recommendations. But
the study has been thorough and conscientious. Its proposals are bold

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