Biopsychosocial Approach (BPSR)

The Health and Human Services Agency's Mental Health Services adopts a biopsychosocial approach to the care and treatment of serious mental illness. Professionals from all of the mental health disciplines, working collaboratively and harmoniously, can provide far more effective care and treatment than any can separately. Biopsychosocial rehabilitation helps people with mental disabilities:

1. Learn to manage the symptoms of their disorder;
2. Acquire and maintain the skills and resources needed to live successfully in the community; and
3. Pursue their own personal goals and recognize and celebrate their individual strengths.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery

The goal of psychosocial rehabilitation is to enable clients to compensate for or eliminate the functional deficits and interpersonal and environmental barriers created by mental disabilities, and to restore ability for independent living, socialization and effective life management.

Psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery is a continuum of interventions from client and support system education to individual treatment. It is designed to work with the whole person to improve individual functioning; increase the person's ability to manage his or her illness, and facilitate recovery. All who are involved in service delivery must be able to work with the client on an interpersonal level, and with the client's support systems to set goals and develop logical steps to meet them.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation Training

To assist Adult and Older Adult Mental Health Service administrators, program managers, practitioners, and other interested parties to increase their knowledge and understanding of psychosocial rehabilitation, and their ability to put theory into practice, a variety of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (PSR) classes are offered in San Diego County. Contact Debbie Malcarne, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Coordinator, at 619-563-2764 or deborah.malcarne@sdcounty.ca.gov for information about these classes. For additional information about psychosocial rehabilitation, go to http://www.iapsrs.org/.