Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psychosocial rehabilitation, and sometimes simplified to psych rehab by providers, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual diagnosed in mental health or mental or emotional disorder and who may be considered to have a psychiatric disability. Psychiatric rehabilitation work is undertaken by rehabilitation counselors (especially the individuals educated in psychiatric rehabilitation), licensed professional counselors (who work in the mental health field), psych rehab consultants or specialists (in private businesses), university level Masters and PhD levels, classes of related disciplines in mental health (psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists) and community support or allied health workers represented in the new Direct Support Professional Workforce in the US (e.g., psychiatric aides).
These workers seek to effect changes in a person's environment and in a person's ability to deal with his/her environment, so as to facilitate improvement in symptoms or personal distress and life outcomes. These services often "combine pharmacological treatment (often required for program admission), independent living and social skills training, psychological support to clients and their families, housing, vocational rehabilitation and employment, social support and network enhancement and access to leisure activities." There is often a focus on challenging stigma and prejudice to enable social inclusion, on working collaboratively in order to empower clients, and sometimes on a goal of full recovery. The latter is now widely known as a recovery approach or model.
Psychiatric or psychosocial rehabilitation drastically differs from the medical model of mental health treatment. It changes the traditional illness-centered perspective to a type of person-centered treatment model that makes it possible for the severely mentally ill to live successfully with their disorder. As such, these types of rehabilitation programs address the various needs of the entire person, from housing and employment to therapy, medication management and activities of daily living with which a person needs assistance. Setting up a business or organization around psychosocial rehabilitation involves orchestrating resources for the benefit of the mental health client.
