Chinese psychiatrists encourage the public to open their minds and hearts to psychiatric patients, saying that they are part of the community and have rights and dignity.
Wen Hong, president of the China Association of Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities and Their Relatives, said that 90 percent of people with mental disorders are kept in homes and cut from human interactions.
Yao Guizhong, assistant director at the Peking University Institute of Mental Health, said "psychiatric patients should not be blamed for their illness" and their choices and decisions should be valued.
"Sometimes, our government and health centers just take charge of too much for the psychiatric patients, who have rights and capabilities to lead their own lives," added Yao.
Data from the World Health Organization showed that there were 152 million clinically depressed and 26 million schizophrenic individuals in 2010.
To help these individuals, China signed the Rights of Person with Disabilities in 2007 issued by the United Nations. China also implemented the New Mental Health Law in May 2013, giving these patients more rights and choices.
Han Jibin, division director of China Disabled Persons' Federation Rehabilitation Department, advised the government that deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients must be based from real-world situations. Han pointed that integrating these patients into communities will require the help of many social workers and a governing institution.
The idea of deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients came from Italy, which in 1978 passed a legislation that closed down all mental institutions.