[Symposium 102] Re-work Program in Japan: Resilience Improvement and Relapse Prevention after Return-to-Work

[SY-102] Re-work Program in Japan: Resilience Improvement and Relapse Prevention after Return-to-Work

Shinsuke Washizuka¹, Hikaru Hori², Sang-un Park³, Tsuyoshi Akiyama⁴ (1.Shinshu University(Japan), 2.Fukuoka University(Japan), 3.Daedong Hospital(Korea), 4.Rokubancho Mental Clinic(Japan))

Most people who worked competitively when they developed a mental illness want to return to work. In Japan, the Re-work program aims to improve resilience and prevent relapse after returning to work. This model includes psychoeducation, health condition monitoring, and improving communication and problem-solving skills as indispensable components for lessening workplace stress. Evidence of the effectiveness of the re-work program has emerged. In this symposium, Shinsuke Washizuka reports a single-arm clinical trial of the outcomes of an interdisciplinary return-to-work intervention, including occupational therapy. Interdisciplinary interventions, including occupational therapy, can potentially improve depressive symptoms, cognitive functioning, job performance, social adaptation, and readiness to return to work. The rehabilitation required for each patient may differ. Akira Hori examined the effectiveness of individualized rehabilitation for patients with major depressive disorder. The social-cognitive function of the personalized treatment group improved significantly. Personalized rework programs tailored to a patient's situation may be required. Sang-un Park launched the first Re-work Program in Korea 2017 at Daedong Hospital. Owing to various challenges, the program was discontinued and restarted in 2023. Park will discuss what kind of efforts and environment are needed to make the rework program work in Korea. Tsuyoshi Akiyama will report a review of the research on return-to-work programs around the world. There are ongoing efforts to help people with mental illnesses return to work. However, there is a lack of resilience improvement and relapse prevention perspectives in these programs and research. The provision of effective programs to improve resilience and prevent relapse in people with mental illnesses will have immense implications for the contribution of psychiatry to society. Clinicians, researchers, and stakeholders should collaborate to promote the desperately needed advancement in this area, which will help many people who develop a mental illness during competitive jobs to attain recovery from the illness.