RESUMO
The need for effective community treatment for psychiatric clients has increased in recent years. The aftercare program descirbed in this paper provides a community treatment program for adult psychiatric clients that aims at facilitatin their adequate and independent adjustment to the community. The occupational therapist functions as a case manager of the treaatment team and is also program coordinator for the arts and crafts groups and the skill development groups. The arts and crafts groups are designed primarily to meet basic mental health needs; the skill development groups are aimed at teaching independent functioning in basic living skills. The behavior rehearsal model provides the theoretical framework for the skill development groups and is an effective approach in teaching skill acquisition to clients treated in the community.