Safeguarding the Right to Community Living: Role of Psychiatric Social Workers in Community Reintegration of Persons with Mental Illness

The right to live in the community is a human right of persons with mental illness, as emphasized under the Mental Healthcare Act (MHCA), 2017 in India. Despite clinical recovery, many patients remain institutionalized due to family abandonment, stigma, and lack of social support, resulting in violation of their right to community living. This paper presents a detailed case study highlighting the crucial role of a Psychiatric Social Worker (PSW) in facilitating the discharge and community reintegration of a person with chronic mental illness admitted in a tertiary psychiatric institution. Through coordinated psychosocial interventions, legal advocacy, escorted discharge, family intervention, and community resource mapping, the PSW team ensured safe reintegration, after care, and restoration of dignity. The case underscores the importance of a rights-based, multidisciplinary, and community-oriented approach in psychiatric social work practice.