For several years now there has been hardly any development of theories on work rehabilitation. The British school of Bennett c.s. has been practically alone in elaborating the ideas of the German psychiatrist Simon. Bennett's approach may be characterized as empirical and pragmatical, community based and tailored to the individual. However, his concepts of work and mental illness are not interrelated theoretically. The article continues with a description of insights concerning the wide field of work and work deprivation as related to mental problems and personality development. Any theory on work rehabilitation should be guarded against both a psychiatrical reduction of work related disorders and a sociological reduction ignoring individual handicaps. The authors conclude by advocating a more extended and differentiated concept of work rehabilitation, emphasizing equally the processes of prevention, treatment and after care, covering the ever widening spectre of treatment careers and responding to the individual needs of clients.