In my master's thesis I follow and examine the case of a person with mental health problems who moved from a hospital in his community to a social care intitution and then back to the community, where he lived with the support of an informal crisis team.
In my theoretical introduction I present the many problems of total institutions, deinstitutionalization in Slovenia and around the world, methods of social work we use that empower users and encourage independent living in the community. I also present the stigma that users with long-term mental health problems still experience in interactions with professionals and general society.
I arrived to conclusions presented in my master's thesis through analyzing personal plans made in different circumstances (living in an institution and living in the community), transcriptions of the crisis team's reports and my record of the case, as one of the most active members of the crisis team.
By monitoring this case we get an insight into the life of a user who has a strong desire to move form a total institution to the community. At the same time I show the obstacles in the system that prevent deinstitutionalization and independent living for people with long-term mental health problems.
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