Continuity of life: evaluation of a psychiatric rehabilitation programme using the continuity of life interview

Background

The Life Skills Centre offers an intensive, individualised and goal directed rehabilitation service to psychiatric patients living within the inner city of Perth, Western Australia. The project aimed to assess the effectiveness of the centre's rehabilitation programme by employing a pre-test/post-test design evaluation of programme participants.

Materials and methods

The study sample consisted of 29 Life Skills Centre clients of variable psychiatric diagnoses and a mean age of 43.37 years. Each participant was assessed with the Continuity of Life Interview, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, WHO-Disability Assessment Schedule-Short Version, and the ICD-10 Symptoms Checklist at the commencement and completion of a standard eight week rehabilitation block.

Results

The study results identified an improvement in occupational performance and satisfaction, a reduction of psychiatric symptoms and global disability, and a positive change in both the present state and future expectations of the programme participants. The centre's intense, client-centered approach toward psychiatric rehabilitation was shown to be highly effective.