What Is Psychosocial Rehabilitation?

A Holistic, Person-Centered Approach to Mental Health Care

People with mental illness sometimes need assistance in different aspects of their lives—including their work, living, social, and learning environments. One treatment approach that can help these individuals manage their symptoms and better function is psychosocial rehabilitation.

Psychosocial rehabilitation is designed to improve the lives of people with mental illness by giving them the emotional, cognitive, and social skills needed to live and work in their communities as independently as possible. Here we explore this approach in greater detail, from its history to its effectiveness.

History of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Before the 1960s and 1970s, it was common for people with serious mental illnesses to be institutionalized. The treatment approach for mental health issues has changed considerably since then and led to de-institutionalization.1

Today, there is a greater emphasis on helping people with mental health conditions live as independently as possible and become fully integrated into the communities in which they live.

While a stigma surrounding mental illness still exists,2 psychosocial rehabilitation strives to help reduce prejudice and foster social inclusion. This approach uses what is known as the recovery model of mental illness.

Full recovery is frequently the goal, but it is seen as a process rather than an outcome. Psychosocial rehabilitation is centered on the person’s recovery potential. It is focused on providing them with empowerment, social inclusion, support, and coping skills.

Everyone’s journey with mental illness is individual and unique. Psychosocial rehabilitation can help individuals find meaning, hope, and growth—regardless of their abilities or the effects of their condition.

Goals of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

The core goals of a psychosocial rehabilitation program include helping the participant feel:

Empowered: Each individual should feel that they can set their own goals and that they have the power and autonomy to pursue those aims.
Hopeful: People with mental health conditions often feel demoralized.3 Psychosocial rehabilitation focuses on helping them feel hopeful about the future.
Skilled: This form of rehabilitation aims to teach people skills to help them manage their condition and live the life they want to live. This includes life skills, work skills, social skills, and others.
Supported: Mental health professionals offer support and help individuals build relationships and social connections in their community.

The time following the diagnosis of a mental health condition is a period of major transition. Patients may lose some functionality, but new approaches can allow them to manage their condition better.

Their illness may have made it difficult to go to school or work, or to maintain supportive relationships with others. Many aspects of life can be affected, including the person’s employment status, housing situation, and family life.

Principles of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Several key principles help guide how mental health professionals in this field approach their work.4 These are aligned with a social model of care versus focusing solely on a medical model of care.

Some overarching psychosocial rehabilitation principles include:

Each person’s needs are different, but all people have potential that can be developed.
People have a right to self-determination.
An individual’s strengths should be emphasized rather than their symptoms.
The present is more central to recovery than fixating on the past.
Professional services should be committed and occur in as normalized an environment as possible.

A Multidisciplinary, Whole-Person Approach

Psychosocial rehabilitation treatments are multidisciplinary. This perspective recognizes that mental illness impacts multiple areas of life, including the biological, social, and psychological systems. Not only are each of these systems affected by mental health, but they are also inextricably interlinked.

When something affects one area, it is bound to influence other areas as well. In light of this, psychosocial rehabilitation takes a whole-person approach. It recognizes that other mental health professionals and physicians may be needed to make contributions to the treatment process.

For example, a person with a mental illness may need psychosocial rehabilitation services that target basic living and social skills training. But they might also need treatment involving medication and psychotherapy. The treatment plan targets the person’s specific symptoms, while rehabilitation focuses on the recovery and reintegration process.

A team approach ensures that the person has access to the tools and resources needed to achieve their goals.

Who Can Benefit From Psychosocial Rehabilitation?

Many people can benefit from psychosocial rehabilitation, but not all people with mental illness require it. For some, medication, therapy, or a combination of the two may be sufficient to restore functioning.

Rehabilitation can be useful when people need additional recovery assistance to help them restore functioning. Those who might benefit from psychosocial rehabilitation include:

People who need help restoring their full functioning after treatment
Those who are disabled and need ongoing assistance in multiple life domains
Individuals who, while functional, feel a need for support and assistance
People who lack the supportive environment and resources they need to achieve full-functioning

People with chronic and severe psychiatric conditions can benefit from psychosocial rehabilitation services. It can help them learn basic skills that allow them to function and cope with their condition. People with intellectual and cognitive disabilities can also benefit from gaining life, social, and self-care skills.

Once the underlying condition has been addressed through treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation focuses on helping people develop the skills and support they need to live full, satisfying lives.

Approaches Used in Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Psychosocial rehabilitation is based on the idea that people are motivated to achieve independence and capable of adapting to achieve their goals. It uses a combination of evidence-based best practices and emerging, promising practices that focus on restoring social and psychological functioning. Here are some of the approaches used.

Builds on Strengths

Rather than focusing on areas of weakness, psychosocial rehabilitation empowers clients and builds on their existing capabilities. Their abilities help form a foundation upon which other important life skills can be developed through observation, modeling, education, and practice.

Some specific areas that psychosocial rehabilitation might address include skills, training, and experiences designed to boost:

Resilience and mental toughness
Problem-solving ability
Self-esteem
Social skills
Stress management

Building these strengths might be accomplished through one-on-one educational sessions that focus on specific skills, or it might involve incorporating training and experience in other life domains such as cooking or recreation. Such experiences allow people to practice their abilities in a safe environment, with supervision and support from a psychosocial rehabilitation professional.

Holistic

Psychosocial rehabilitation strives to address areas of the person’s life that contribute to their overall physical and psychological well-being. Professionals who work in this field provide a range of individual and community-based psychological services.

In determining each patient’s needs, mental health professionals look at the physical and social environment, develop a service plan, and collaborate with other professionals.

Psychosocial rehabilitation providers look at each client’s situation and help determine what they need to live and function as independently as possible. This frequently involves locating those services in the community and coordinating their delivery.

Specific psychosocial rehabilitation treatments can vary considerably from case to case depending upon a person’s needs and the resources available. The process is highly individualized, person-centered, and collaborative.

Person-Oriented

The client plays a role in setting goals for what they hope to accomplish in psychosocial rehabilitation. Each client’s goals are individualized based upon their specific needs or concerns.

The rehabilitation process is not about the therapist deciding what the client’s goals should be. Instead, the client determines what they want to achieve. The focus is then on providing the support and resources they need to make these goals a reality.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation Activities

Psychosocial rehabilitation activities include those related to basic living skills, family relationships, peer and social relationships, employment, education, recreation, health, and wellness.
Work

Working is beneficial for mental wellness and can help people feel productive.5

Evans J, Wilton R. Well enough to work? Social enterprise employment and the geographies of mental health recovery. Ann Amer Assoc Geograph. 2019;109(1):87-103. doi:10.1080/24694452.2018.1473753
This is why vocational assistance is an important component of psychosocial rehabilitation.

Finding and maintaining work can often improve social connections, boost self-esteem, and improve one’s overall quality of life.

Psychosocial rehabilitation workers can assist clients with finding and maintaining employment. This might include helping them develop vocational skills, connecting the client to employment services in the community, assisting with career planning, and providing transportation assistance.

Another activity related to this aspect of the psychosocial rehabilitation process is assistance with filling out job applications or practicing job interviews. In other instances, clients may work in temporary or supported work settings where they can develop and practice these skills.
Housing

Psychosocial rehabilitation may involve connecting clients with safe, affordable, and appropriate housing. Clients may live independently in their own homes or in family homes. Other housing situations may include group homes, residential services, and apartments.

Depending on the client’s needs, housing support exists on a continuum. It ranges from fully staffed, round-the-clock supportive care to minimally staffed or fully independent living.
Relationships

Social skills and interpersonal functioning are important parts of psychosocial rehabilitation. Skills training may focus on activities designed to help clients better function in their social worlds, including family, work, school, friendships, and romance.

This is accomplished by teaching clients skills related to emotional understanding. They’re also exposed to skills that enhance their interpersonal problem-solving, verbal and conversational abilities, and nonverbal communication.

Community Functioning

One of the overriding goals of psychosocial rehabilitation is to help those with mental illness become better integrated within their community. Rehabilitation professionals often work with clients in community settings and locations.

For example, a child receiving psychosocial rehabilitation services may work with mental health professionals in school settings but also spend time on social outings to local businesses, doctor’s offices, libraries, and other locations. Practicing social and life skills in these settings allows the child to gain experience and rehearse interactions they might face as part of daily life.

Effectiveness of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Research investigating the outcomes and effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation treatments is still ongoing, but there is evidence indicating these approaches have an overall beneficial effect.
Improved Life Skills

A study of people with schizophrenia and affective disorders found that psychosocial rehabilitation was linked to significant benefits in a variety of areas—including family relations, communication, community participation, self-care, money management, transportation, and vocational abilities.6
Greater Overall Wellness

Research has also shown that psychosocial rehabilitation can help improve a client’s well-being. In one study published in the International Journal of Mental Health, individuals engaged in this type of program reported a higher sense of respect, autonomy, and purpose, along with feeling at peace.7
May Help With Serious Psychiatric Conditions

A review of psychosocial treatments suggests that these approaches show promise in both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia recovery.8 Strategies often used in psychosocial rehabilitation, such as social skills training and cognitive remediation, can help address social functioning, work recovery, and independent living.

Summary

The goal of psychosocial rehabilitation is to help clients engage in their communities as fully as they possibly can, and many of the strategies used in the process are aimed at helping clients become fully integrated. Doing this not only improves a client’s quality of life but also helps create a network of ongoing social support.

Psychosocial rehabilitation is not always necessary, but it can be a helpful part of a comprehensive treatment program. By promoting recovery, improving quality of life, and fostering community integration, this approach can be an essential resource for those who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Such services can help individuals develop skills, identify strengths, and improve their capacity to be successful in their lives, work, and relationships.

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