The passage of the Mental Health Act of 1963 marked the beginning of a new era in the treatment of mental illness in the Uni ted States. T h e change f rom the old state hospital concept to the new emphasis upon communi ty centered treatment for the mentally ill has now been developed to the point where we can begin to see important implications for our own work as chaplains. Indeed, the last few years have been a period of radical change in the whole mental health field. There has been a questioning of psychoanalytic practices. At the same time there has been an increasing emphasis on ego psychology, crisis theory, and crisis intervention, as well as preventive psychiatry. There have also been efforts to include nonprofessionals as mental health workers and the beginnings of attempts to enlist the aid of all members of the communi ty in promot ing and maintaining the kind of communi ty that will foster better mental health. Out of all this one thing is clear. N e w understanding and skills and new methods of training are going to be required for c lergymen who will be working in the mental health field. Last year at the annual meeting of the