A statewide assessment of psychosocial rehabilitation programs: general characteristics and services

Psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) encompasses a diverse array of skill-building and environmental support services for individuals with serious mental illness. The current study gleaned information from state Department of Mental Heath (DMH) databases and interviews with program directors to describe general characteristics and services of 22 out of 24 PSR programs in one New England state. Results underscored the relative predominance of services targeting social rehabilitation rather than vocational, educational, or residential rehabilitation. In addition, density of service provision across agencies was unrelated to enrollment or daily attendance statistics. Furthermore, low validity coefficients between mandated reporting statistics and information collected via interviews were found, suggesting the need to develop more valid and reliable reporting systems. Finally, four areas of concern were highlighted: substantial discrepancies between average membership enrollment and daily attendance, low percentages of peer-managed activities, predominance of services in traditional clinical settings, and lack of attention to multicultural issues.