[Ambulatory occupational therapy. Results of a multicenter, prospective evaluation study]

Work is an indispensable component in the treatment of (chronically) mentally ill patients. In critically scientific terms, however, there is no adequate proof of its therapeutic effectiveness. Efforts at evaluation fail because of the complexity of the clinical reality. Moreover, the differential aspects of the indication have been ignored in research. This is exemplary of the problems confronting research on the provision of psychiatric treatment: the status of what has been put to the test and introduced on the basis of routine experience is such that emperical investigations are not carried out because of lack of interest and methodological problems. Against the background of this dilemma, this study seeks a middle course for measuring success. We carried out a prospective study on a representative sample of 126 outpatients in 7 clinical work therapy departments. The results show that outpatient work therapy can be seen as a useful part of differentiated therapy, in particular for chronically mentally ill patients. Previous experience is summed up in a review of the literature.