Occupational diseases may cause damage to workers' mental health resulting in the incapacity to work. Through vocational rehabilitation programs these workers can be helped to return to work. This article is a literature review of studies related to vocational rehabilitation of workers suffering from psychological damage. Data were collected from national and international databases, resulting in a total of 70 articles that were organized into the following categories: concepts and policies of vocational rehabilitation, psychological aspects of vocational rehabilitation, and interventions in vocational rehabilitation. Studies in the field of vocational rehabilitation that involve aspects of mental health are recent, with an increase in publications since the 2000s. New studies within this field of knowledge are needed, aiming to increase the production related to mental health aspects in vocational rehabilitation.
Psychological aspects; Inability; Rehabilitation vocational; Mental health