The implementation process of a new model of intensive rehabilitation in a hospital setting: the development of an innovative practice within the context of integration of settings, services and treatment models

This article describes the process of implementation of an internal intensive rehabilitation program at Douglas hospital for people with severe mental disorders. A discussion of contemporary paradigms of rehabilitation implies the integration of biological and psychosocial perspectives in the characterization and treatment of the pathology. The discussion of the reorganization of the entire rehabilitation services of the Program for severe mental disorders leads to specifying the organizational and regional context of the implementation. The axes of implementation in priority are the following : analysis of needs, training, reorganization of work and modification of the setting of care. These activities are implemented in reference to scientific developments that are empirically relevant and assessed regularly. Future challenges include the pursuit of integration of treatment models, of settings and services within the context of the hierarchy of mental health care in Québec.