The contemporary field of psychiatric rehabilitation originated in
programs of mental health treatment that began as early as the late
1940s. Many social workers employed in urban community centers, then
termed "intermediate care facilities," had been trained in social group
work. Any sickness, physical or psychological, leads to reduction in the
patient's functional capacity. However, as the recovery takes place, the
functional capacity returns to more or less presickness level. Activity
may be physical, mental, social, recreational or job oriented. In the
case of mentally ill person due to various reasons, these activities are
disturbed to a varying extent. Rehabilitation aims at helping the
patient to re-establish or regain his interest to do useful activity.
Psychiatric rehabilitation grew out of a need to create opportunities
for people diagnosed with severe mental illness to live, learn, and work
in their own communities.