Psychosocial Interventions to Support Community Living: Rehabilitation, Recovery, and Rights

People with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are at risk of social exclusion, poor social functioning, unemployment, low levels of education, and housing instability or homelessness. While interventions effective in treating illness symptoms have been developed, many people experiencing SMI have been left without support for recovery. In this chapter, psychosocial treatments and assistance for community living to meet the needs and protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities associated with SMI are reviewed. Approaches reviewed include assertive community treatment and other case management approaches, social skills training, employment approaches, supported education, family psychoeducation and consultation, cognitive and social cognitive interventions, and housing interventions. Although the rehabilitation interventions considered in this chapter are evidence-based, designed to support recovery and routinely recommended in practice guidelines, they have been poorly translated into practice and are not easily accessible to many people with SMI. The need for systematic and sustained transformation of organizations and services that support people with SMI in order to assist them in achieving their recovery goals and realizing their human rights is discussed.