Mental health problems in Chilean society and the world are very relevant in our time. Studies on child mental health are very scarce, as are programmes that address this problem in this population. The Skills for Life program was born 20 years ago to respond to this problem in the educational communities, recognizing this context as the ideal one to carry out promotion and prevention actions. The teams that in the beginning were only made up of psychologists, today increasingly integrate Occupational Therapy, which brings together all components in their work to promote participation in meaningful occupations in the main actors of the educational centers, such as children, teachers and parents and / or guardians.The Occupational Therapist in this context, encounters challenging environments, trying to empower its participants in front of important issues for mental health, constantly relating to health determinants that limit the full enjoyment of activities and occupations. The experience describes the Program inserted in the commune of Estación Central, in the metropolitan area, where, in addition, we face the intercultural transformation of the society, by which it is necessary to give answers in front of the cultural barriers that appear. The program has excellent results in terms of the occupational performance of its participants, and their insertion in each school throughout the country can be validated.gran relevancia en nuestra actualidad. El programa Habilidades para la Vida nace hace 20 años con el fin de dar respuesta a esta problemática de salud mental en las comunidades educativas, reconociendo este contexto el ideal para realizar acciones de promoción y prevención. Los equipos que en sus inicios estaban conformados sólo por psicólogos, hoy en día integran cada vez más al terapeuta ocupacional, el cual reúne todos componentes en su quehacer para promover la participación en ocupaciones significativas en los actores principales de los centros educacionales, como lo son niños(as), profesores (as) y padres y/o apoderados. Se describe la experiencia de Terapia Ocupacional en el programa Habilidades para la vida de la comuna de Estación Central, Región metropolitana. Las acciones de Terapia Ocupacional tienen buenos resultados demostrándose en el desempeño ocupacional de sus participantes.