Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) is an approach to working with people with prolonged and/or severe mental illness which is developed in response to their individual needs. Several formal definitions have been offered as to what PSR means. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines psychosocial rehabilitation as "a process that offers the opportunity for individuals who are impaired, disabled, or handicapped by a mental disorder to reach their optimal level of independent functioning in the community." The International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (IAPRS) published the following definition of psychosocial rehabilitation:
The process of facilitating an individual's restoration to an optimal level of independent functioning in the community. [...] [It] invariably encourages persons to participate actively with others in the attainment of mental health and social competence goals. [...] The process emphasizes the wholeness and wellness of the individual and seeks a comprehensive approach to the provision of vocational, residential, social/recreational, educational and personal adjustment services.
What is common to various definitions of PSR is the importance of self-determination of the person with mental health problems in attaining a better quality of life with the assistance of support services. Support services range from social work, counseling, case-management, to vocational training and therapeutic recreation, among others.
Through the process of PSR, the person is transformed from victim to survivor, moving from having no control over his or her environment, toward taking an active part in shaping one's own life. In this process of taking charge of their own recovery, people develop feelings of self-worth and improved mental well-being.
In this section of the website you will find information about various aspects of psychosocial rehabilitation, relevant publications and reports, and a list of useful links.
Selected Sources:
Outpatient Services Program (OPSP), Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada, is a program of the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene, and a partner in the North Simcoe Community Mental Health System. It provides community-based services for adults with serious mental illness. More information is available at: http://www.mhcp.on.ca/Site_Published/internet/OutpatientServicesProgram.aspx
The Program on Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) offered through Distance Education at the Mohawk College's School of Continuing Education, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is intended for frontline staff in mental health agencies and related agencies, service users of mental health programs who are interested in learning the PSR approach, and other individuals who plan to work in mental health. More information is available at: http://www.mohawkcollege.ca/Discover/CE/disted/health/psychosocial.html.
Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program (PRP) at the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, Waukegan, Illinois, USA, provides psychosocial rehabilitative services to people with mental illness who need day and recreational activities, socialization opportunities, independent living skills training, and/or help learning to cope with and manage their illness. The services aim to foster growth and development opportunities for adults with mental illness, focusing on moving toward independence in the community. More information is available at: http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Health/want/PRP.htm.
Storm Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands, started in 1987 as a local initiative for training caregivers in new approaches in the care for people with chronic mental illness. Its overall goal is to provide knowledge to the mental health sector as well as to the social sector in order to improve care for people with mental and social disabilities. More information (only in Dutch) is available at: http://lczorg.rinogroep.nl/.
United States Psychosocial Rehabilitation Association (USPRA), formerly known as International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (IAPSRS), Linthicum, Maryland, USA, is one of the leading psychiatric rehabilitation organizations in the United States. In 1975, USPRA and its members developed and defined the practice of psychosocial rehabilitation, establishing psychosocial rehabilitation services as integral to community-based treatment. More information is available at: http://www.uspra.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1.