EVIVO is a well-established chronic disease self-management program, having been successfully implemented during the last decade in Switzerland. The program has shown positive results in facilitation of self-management competences for patients living with chronic diseases and their relatives. EVIVO was designed to run for 6 weeks with weekly sessions of 2 and a half hour each. We tested the effectiveness of a shortened version of EVIVO, running it over five half days in order to make it more focused for patients who are challenged by managing their chronic illness within the context of their professional life. Participants in the five-session version showed comparable self-efficacy levels compared with those who had attended the standard six-week six-session courses. Overall, the five-session version was well accepted, considered very useful, met the participants' needs and changed their perception of their own expectations towards self-management of their illness.