VOCATIONAL-REHABILITATION OF CHRONICALLY MENTALLY-ILL PEOPLE - IMPLEMENTATION AND GOALS

The number of patients suffering from chronic mental disorders but living outside the psychiatric hospital is undergoing a steady increase, which is reflected in an increasing demand for appropriate vocational and occupational facilities. This demand is met primarily by outpatient work therapy, social enterprises and enterprises providing jobs to supplement pensions, and by special departments for the mentally disabled in workshops for the disabled. Furthermore there are special programmes for placing mentally ill people on the general labour market and for the care of mentally ill employees in their existing jobs. First results of a prospective study on vocational rehabilitation in the region of Westphalia, covering the mentioned facilities and programmes, are reported.