Top

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Published in:

01-11-2009 | Original Paper

Working with mental health problems: clients’ experiences of IPS, vocational rehabilitation and employment

Authors: Marsha Koletsi, Astrid Niersman, Jooske T. van Busschbach, Jocelyn Catty, Thomas Becker, Tom Burns, Angelo Fioritti, Rana Kalkan, Christoph Lauber, Wulf Rössler, Toma Tomov, Durk Wiersma, for the EQOLISE Group

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 11/2009

Abstract

Background

Although the effectiveness of individual placement and support (IPS) has been well established, little is known about clients’ perceptions of the model compared to usual vocational rehabilitation, nor about their experiences of searching for and returning to work with this kind of support. This qualitative study aimed to explore clients’ views of the difficulties of obtaining and maintaining employment, their experiences of the support received from their IPS or Vocational Service workers and the perceived impact of work on clients’ lives.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 people with psychotic disorders participating in a six-centre international randomised controlled trial of IPS compared to usual vocational rehabilitation. To assess their experiences of the services and the perceived effects of working, two IPS and two Vocational Service clients at each centre who had found work during the study period were interviewed, along with two IPS and two Vocational Service clients at each centre who had not.

Results

IPS clients reported having received more help seeking and maintaining employment, whereas Vocational Service clients reported having received more help in finding sheltered employment or placements. Clients who had worked associated this with financial stability, improved social lives, increased self-esteem, integration into society and amelioration of their symptoms, as well as reduced feelings of boredom and isolation, but also reported increased levels of stress. IPS clients as well as Vocational Service ones reported not receiving enough follow-up support, despite this being proposed as a key feature of the model.

Conclusion

Findings from the in-depth interviews reflect differences in service models that have also been tested quantitatively but further work in disaggregating the IPS model and assessing the impact of each component would be valuable.

Becker DR, Drake RE (2003) A working life for people with severe mental illness. Oxford University Press, New YorkCrossRef

Becker DR, Drake RE, Bond GR, Xie H, Dain BJ, Harrison K (1998) Job terminations among persons with severe mental illness participating in supported employment. Community Ment Health J 34:71–81CrossRefPubMed

Becker DR, Whitley R, Bailey EL, Drake RE (2007) Long-term employment trajectories among participants with severe mental illness in supported employment. Psychiatr Serv 58:922–928CrossRefPubMed

Boardman J, Grove B, Perkins R, Shepherd G (2003) Work and employment for people with psychiatric disabilities. Br J Psychiatry 182:467–468CrossRefPubMed

Bond GR, Becker DR, Drake RE, Rapp CA, Meisler N, Lehman AF, Bell MD, Blyler C (2001) Implementing supported employment as an evidence-based practice. Psychiatr Serv 52:313–322CrossRefPubMed

Bond GR, Becker DR, Drake RE (2008) An update on randomized controlled trials of evidence-based supported employment. Psychiatr Rehabil J 31:280–290CrossRefPubMed

Buchanan J (1995) Social support and schizophrenia: a review of the literature. Arch Psychiatr Nurs 9:68–76CrossRefPubMed

Burns T, Catty J, Becker T, Drake RE, Fioritti A, Knapp M, Rössler W, Tomov T, White S, Wiersma D, the EQOLISE Group (2007) The effectiveness of supported employment for people with severe mental illness: a randomised controlled trial in six European countries. Lancet 370:1146–1152CrossRefPubMed

Burns T, Catty J, White S, Becker T, Fioritti A, Koletsi M, Rössler W, Tomov T, van Busschbach J, Wiersma D, Lauber C, for the EOQLISE Group (2008) The impact of supported employment and working on clinical and social functioning: results of an international study of individual placement and support. Schizophr Bull [online publication 21 April 2008]

10.

Catty J, Lissouba P, White S, Becker T, Drake RE, Fioritti A, Knapp M, Lauber C, Rössler W, Tomov T, van Busschbach J, Wiersma D, Burns T, for the EQOLISE Group (2008) Predictors of employment and IPS effectiveness for people with severe mental illness: results of an international six-centre RCT. Br J Psychiatry 192:224–231CrossRefPubMed

11.

Drake RE, Bond GR (2008) The future of supported employment for people with severe mental illness. Psychiatr Rehabil J 31:367–376CrossRefPubMed

12.

Dunn EC, Wewiorski NJ, Rogers ES (2008) The meaning and importance of employment to people in recovery from serious mental illness: results of a qualitative study. Psychiatr Rehabil J 32:59–62CrossRefPubMed

13.

Ellison ML, Russonova Z, MacDonald-Wilson KL, Lyass A (2003) Patterns and correlates of workplace disclosure among professionals and managers with psychiatric conditions. J Vocat Rehabil 18:3–13

14.

Honey A (2004) Benefits and drawback of employment: perspectives of people with mental illness. Qual Health Res 14:381–395CrossRefPubMed

15.

Lindner JR (1998) Understanding employee motivation. J Ext 36:3

16.

Marrone J, Balzell A, Gold M (1995) Employment supports for people with mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 46:707–711PubMed

17.

Marwaha S, Johnson S (2004) Schizophrenia and employment: a review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39:337–349CrossRefPubMed

18.

Marwaha S, Johnson S (2005) Views and experiences of employment among people with psychosis: a qualitative descriptive study. Int J Soc Psychiatry 51:302–316CrossRefPubMed

19.

Mueser KT, Becker DR, Wolfe R (2001) Supported Employment, job preferences, job tenure and satisfaction. J Ment Health 10:411–417CrossRef

20.

Priebe S, Warner R, Hubschmids T, Eckle I (1998) Employment, attitudes towards work and quality of life among people with schizophrenia in three countries. Schizophr Bull 24:469–477PubMed

21.

Provencher HL, Gregg R, Mead S, Mueser KT (2002) The role of work in the recovery of persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatr Rehabil J 26(2):132–144CrossRefPubMed

22.

Reinhinghaus UA, Morgan C, Simpson J, Dazzan P, Morgan K, Doody DA, Bhugra D, Leff J, Jones P, Murray R, Fearon P, Craig TKJ (2008) Unemployment, social isolation, achievement-expectation mismatch and psychosis: findings from the AESOP study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43:743–751CrossRef

23.

Rüesch P, Graf J, Meyer PC, Rössler W, Hell D (2004) Occupation, social support and quality of life in persons with schizophrenic or affective disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 39:686–694CrossRefPubMed

24.

Salyers MP, Becker DR, Drake RE, William TC, Wyzik PF (2004) A ten year follow-up of a supported employment program. Psychiatr Serv 55:302–308CrossRefPubMed

25.

Strickler DC, Whitley R, Becker DR, Drake RE (2009) First person accounts of long-term employment activity among people with dual diagnosis. Psychiatr Rehabil J (in press)

26.

Tsang HWH, Angell B, Corrigan PW, Lee Y-T, Shi K, Lam CS, Jin S, Fung KMT (2007) A cross-cultural study of employers’ concerns about hiring people with psychotic disorder: implications for recovery. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 42:723–733CrossRefPubMed

27.

Van Dongen CJ (1996) Quality of life and self esteem in working and non-working persons with mental illness. Community Ment Health J 32:535–548CrossRefPubMed

Title: Working with mental health problems: clients’ experiences of IPS, vocational rehabilitation and employment
Authors: Marsha Koletsi
Astrid Niersman
Jooske T. van Busschbach
Jocelyn Catty
Thomas Becker
Tom Burns
Angelo Fioritti
Rana Kalkan
Christoph Lauber
Wulf Rössler
Toma Tomov
Durk Wiersma
for the EQOLISE Group
Publication date: 01-11-2009
Publisher: D. Steinkopff-Verlag
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 11/2009
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0017-5

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Working with mental health problems: clients’ experiences of IPS, vocational rehabilitation and employment

Abstract

Background

Method

Results

Conclusion

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Method

Results

Conclusion

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 11/2009

Dimensional, non-taxonic latent structure of psychotic symptoms in a student sample

Quality of life in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: base rates, parent–child agreement, and clinical correlates

An exploration of the factor structure and development of potentially useful subscales of etiological beliefs about schizophrenia in a general population sample

Social capital and suicide in 11 European countries: an ecological analysis

Mental health service use in a nationwide sample of Korean adults

Psychiatric civil and forensic inpatient satisfaction with care: the impact of provider and recipient characteristics