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Work Interest as a Predictor of Competitive Employment: Policy Implications for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

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Abstract

Consumers with serious mental illness (N=166) enrolling in two community-based mental health programs, a vocational Program of Assertive Community Treatment and a clubhouse certified by the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD), were asked about their interest in work. About one third of the new enrollees expressed no interest in working. Equivalent supported employment services were then offered to all participants in each program. Stated interest in work and receipt of vocational services were statistically significant predictors of whether a person would work and how long it would take to get a job. Two thirds of those interested in work and half of those with no initial interest obtained a competitive job if they received at least one hour of vocational service. Once employed, these two groups held comparable jobs for the same length of time. These findings demonstrate the importance of making vocational services continuously available to all people with serious mental illness, and the viability of integrating these services into routine mental health care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fountain House, Inc., 425 West 47th Street, New York, NY, 10036

    Cathaleene Macias

  2. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY

    Lawrence T. DeCarlo

  3. Fountain House, Inc., New York, NY

    Qi Wang

  4. Mendota Mental Health Institute, Madison, WI

    Jana Frey

  5. McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA

    Paul Barreira

Authors
  1. Cathaleene Macias
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  2. Lawrence T. DeCarlo
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  3. Qi Wang
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  4. Jana Frey
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  5. Paul Barreira
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Macias, C., DeCarlo, L.T., Wang, Q. et al. Work Interest as a Predictor of Competitive Employment: Policy Implications for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Adm Policy Ment Health 28, 279–297 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011185513720

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