Community Psychiatry in a Sri Lankan setting: Should we rush to push the boundaries?

Sri Lanka is preparing to introduce new mental health laws incorporating aspects of community care amidstglobal acceptance of Community Psychiatry as theideal model of service delivery in mental health.However, this model needs to be reviewed not onlybecause of the high financial and human resources it requires but also in light of recent reports that ithas not yielded expected results in some developingcountries. A more practical framework, incorporatingthe many specific factors of the milieu in which itoperates, is advocated especially for a country such asSri Lanka with its distinctive advantages and limitations