The present thesis aims to fulfil the need to implement cost-effective and evidence-based occupational therapy practice in psychiatric rehabilitation.

The thesis presents a program called Lifestyle Redesign which has been internationally researched and acclaimed. The thesis project aimed to produce a folder of resources and methods based on Lifestyle Redesign for the use of occupational therapists working in the psychiatric care sector of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland (HDSF). The folder contains descriptions and examples of themes, topics, exercises, policies and practices that are suitable for use in therapy groups for young adults suffering from social anxiety.

The present work was a functional thesis in which a literature review and the practical experiences of the occupational therapists of the HDSF were utilized in the process of compiling the folder. Occupational therapists' ideas and opinions considering the contents of the folder were collected with an electronic questionnaire.

The contents, topics and methods of the Lifestyle Matters program were applied in the creation of the materials for group therapy. The most common challenges that people with social anxiety face were taken into consideration on the basis of practical experience and evidence suggested by the literary sources.

The end product was a 66-page folder of ideas that was based on Lifestyle Matters accompanied by a report describing the process and theory involved. The conclusions of the thesis are that it is possible to apply the contents of Lifestyle Matters in the therapy of young adults with social anxiety if both the theoretical approach and the target group are well surveyed. It is also apparent that people with social anxiety can benefit from therapeutic processes by taking part in the groups developed on the basis of Lifestyle Redesign. The folder produced as a result of the thesis process is confidential, and it has been delivered to the client.