Interested readers of analysis of schizophrenia by Adrian Kwintner (The Argus, May 19) will find his interviews with Sussex's newly-formed group of "Mad Mums" borne out by Peter Barham's equally insightful book Closing The Asylum.

Barham concisely traces developments in the treatment in the community of those with mental health problems, from the closure of the large mental hospitals which once ringed London and other conurbations, to the present.

In a footnote which has wholly contemporary resonance - to judge by a report on the reluctance of some Southwick residents to accept daycare patients with mental health problems into their midst (The Argus, May 15) - he recalls a Sun headline of ten years ago: "We'll lock up 5,000 psychos", which accompanied a story beginning: "Thousands of dangerous mental patients are to be kept off the streets in a huge shake-up of the controversial care-in-

the-community policy."

He comments that, despite the images often portrayed in the media, violence towards others is uncommon in schizophrenia.

Homicide is rare, with suicide and self-harm being far more prevalent. "Most people with schizophrenia," adds Barham, "are more withdrawn and less aggressive than the general population and it could be argued they are, in fact, far more likely to be on the receiving end of violence than to perpetrate it."

The Argus is to be congratulated for attempting to redress the obfuscation which, to this day, all too often surrounds this sensitive issue.

-SJ Williams, Hove