Rehabilitation preparation is needed to the extent that occupational reorientation may give rise to a multitude of personal insecurities. Increased requirements demand augmented efforts to motivate for independent and competent functioning in the occupational career ahead. Given this aim, the Bad Krozingen rehabilitation center's preparatory programmes, in their entry phase, are focussed on assessment of deficits in competence and on enhancing basic skills--social, educational as well as vocational. The subsequent main phase is aimed at demonstrating the practical applicability of learning contents in future occupational situations, and a reality-based vocational setting is sought to be attained by implementation of a holistic, project-oriented approach in this context in particular. The transition phase, finally, is intended to achieve the individual prerequisites for subsequent rehabilitation activities, in particular training programmes. Initial experience has shown that the approach outlined is promising in particular in respect of independence, social behaviour and motivation for the learning and vocational tasks ahead.