Work rehabilitation in people with severe mental illnesses

Work and employment are basic human rights. Work therapy has a long-standing tradition in mental health care. Integrating people with severe mental illness into jobs has always been considered indispensable. Germany has a good legal framework for work rehabilitation and there is solid evidence of effectiveness for a range of interventions. International models of work integration have not been implemented to a sufficient degree and this may be one of the reasons for limited success in work rehabilitation for people with mental illnesses. The need for work rehabilitation measures and the available evidence are outlined. Social legislation, conceptual and organizational aspects of rehabilitation are described. International comparisons suggest that the care system will have to integrate prevention, curative treatment, rehabilitation and long-term care in a better way.