[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/) › [Somatic treatments and levels of care](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/care/) › Psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery

# Psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery

- Technique

Help for people with severe mental illness to work, study, live independently and build a meaningful life, not only to reduce symptoms.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

## Key points

- Recovery processes are commonly described with the CHIME framework: Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment.
- Individual placement and support (IPS) is the most empirically validated programme for improving employment in severe mental illness; in supported employment the person works in a competitive job with an on-site job coach.
- Cognitive remediation combined with psychiatric rehabilitation improves psychosocial functioning more than rehabilitation alone.
- Psychoeducational family interventions can reduce the rate of relapse in schizophrenia.

## What it is

Psychiatric rehabilitation helps people with severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, regain skills and roles: work, self-care, managing a household, getting along with others and working with clinicians. It aims at recovery, which the CHIME framework describes through five processes: connectedness, hope and optimism, identity, meaning in life and empowerment. Programmes include supported employment, skills training, cognitive remediation, family psychoeducation and community-based support, delivered together with medical treatment.

## How it is done

- Set the goals of treatment: fewer psychotic symptoms, preserved psychosocial function, prevention of relapse and less recreational drug use.
- Combine medicines with psychosocial interventions such as skills training, supported employment and cognitive remediation.
- Combine cognitive remediation with rehabilitation rather than giving it alone.
- Involve the family through psychoeducation, which can reduce relapse.
- Plan for severe relapses: admission or a hospital-alternative crisis service may be needed.

## Rehabilitation interventions and what they aim at

| Intervention | What it does | Main goal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Supported employment (IPS)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Placement in a competitive job with an on-site job coach, who later becomes a backup for problem solving | Competitive work |
| [Skills training](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Practice of work, shopping, self-care, household management and getting along with others | Daily functioning |
| [Cognitive remediation](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Training of attention, working memory, executive functioning and social cognition | Cognition that carries over into daily life |
| [Family psychoeducation](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | Education of the family about the illness | Fewer relapses |
| [Assertive community treatment](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/) | A team with high staff-to-patient ratios that delivers nearly all services in the person’s home | Care in the community |

## Clinical notes

- Community support services, from 24-hour supervision to periodic home visits, let many people with schizophrenia live in the community; a small percentage need long-term institutional or supportive care.
- In Colombia, Law 1616 of 2013 (the mental health law, amended by Law 2460 of 2025 and Law 2564 of 2026) includes community-based rehabilitation and patient and family support groups among the modalities of the mental health network.
- Substance use predicts poorer outcomes, including nonadherence, relapse, readmission and homelessness, so it is treated as part of the plan.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What can psychoeducational family interventions achieve in schizophrenia?

They can reduce the rate of relapse.

## What does CHIME stand for?

Connectedness, Hope and optimism, Identity, Meaning in life and Empowerment, the five recovery processes.

## Which programme has the strongest evidence for improving employment?

Individual placement and support (IPS), a form of supported employment in a competitive job.

## When does cognitive remediation improve psychosocial functioning most?

When it is combined with psychiatric rehabilitation, such as supported employment or social skills training.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-rehabilitation-and-recovery/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Community and public health nursing: roles, levels of prevention and settings](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-and-public-health-nursing-roles-levels-of-prevention-and-settings/)
- [Law 1996 of 2019: legal capacity of adults with disability](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/law-1996-of-2019-legal-capacity-of-adults-with-disability/)

## Connections

## Related 5

- [Levels of mental health care and involuntary admission](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/levels-of-mental-health-care-and-involuntary-admission/)
- [Community and global mental health](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/community-and-global-mental-health/)
- [Family, group and interpersonal therapy](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/family-group-and-interpersonal-therapy/)
- [Behavior therapy: exposure, desensitization, token economy and more](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/behavior-therapy-exposure-desensitization-token-economy-and-more/)
- [How to improve adherence](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/how-to-improve-adherence/)

## Related conditions 3

- [Schizophrenia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/schizophrenia/)
- [Bipolar disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/bipolar-disorder/)
- [Major depressive disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/major-depressive-disorder/)

[← All of behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/)

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Cognitive Remediation and Psychosocial Rehabilitation for Individuals with Severe Mental Illness](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3540926/) (Rehabilitation Research and Practice, PubMed Central, 2012); [Systematic review and citation content analysis of the CHIME framework for mental health recovery processes: recommendations for developing influential conceptual frameworks](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7614322/) (Journal of Recovery in Mental Health, PubMed Central, 2023); [Schizophrenia](https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/schizophrenia-and-related-disorders/schizophrenia) (MSD Manual Professional Edition, 2025); [Compilación Jurídica del MINTIC - Ley 1616 de 2013](https://normograma.mintic.gov.co/mintic/compilacion/docs/ley_1616_2013.htm) (Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (Colombia), 2026).

## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake

Representative model, for educational purposes only.

---
Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-rehabilitation-and-recovery/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-rehabilitation-and-recovery/