A Working Life for People with Severe Mental Illness

by Deborah R. Becker, Robert E. Drake

Overview

Traditional approaches to vocational rehabilitation, such as skills training classes, job clubs, and sheltered employment, have not been successful in helping people with severe mental illness gain competitive employment. Supported employment, in which clients are placed in jobs and then trained by on-site coaches, is a radically new conceptual approach to vocational rehabilitation designed for people with developmental disabilities. The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) method utilizes the supported employment concept, but modifies it for use with the severely mentally ill. It is the only approach that has a strong empirical research base: rates of competitive employment are 40% or more in IPS programs, compared to 15% in traditional mental health programs. The third volume in the Innovations in Practice and Service Delivery with Vulnerable Populations series, this will be extremely useful to students in psychiatric rehabilitation programs and social work classes dealing with the severely mentally ill, as well as to practitioners in the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190284954
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/12/2003
Series:	Innovations in Practice and Service Delivery with Vulnerable Populations
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

both at New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center

Table of Contents

IllustrationsPart I. Conceptual and Empirical Support for Individual Placement and Support1. Introduction2. Conceptual, Historical, and Ideological Underpinnings of Supported Employment3. Theoretical Underpinnings of Individual Placement and Support (IPS)4. Introduction to the IPS Approach to Supported Employment5. Research on IPSPart II. Practice Guidelines for Implementing Supported Employment6. Introduction to IPS7. The Structure of IPS in the Mental Health Agency8. Getting Started9. Comprehensive, Work-based Assessment10. Finding Jobs11. Maintaining JobsPart III. Special Issues12. Dual Diagnosis and Work13. Highly Trained Individuals and Work14. Supported Education15. Work and Cultural Competence16. ConclusionsAppendices1. Individual Employment Plan2. Vocational Profile3. Job Descriptions: Employment Specialist, Employment Coordinator4. Sample Letters to Employers5. Supported Employment Fidelity Scale and Implementation QuestionsReferencesSuggested ReadingsIndex

Editorial Reviews

5 Stars! from Doody

Reviewer: Debra Klbecka, MS (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: This book describes the theory and implementation of the Individual Placement and Support for employing people with mental illnesses. This book is a follow-up from the authors who first wrote on this subject 10 years ago.
Purpose: According to the authors, the book has three purposes: to supply readers with historical, theoretical, and empirical background of Individual Placement and Support; to present the changes that have occurred since publication of the previous book and how to implement the actual theory in the clinical setting; and to present examples and address questions that the healthcare professional may encounter during implementation. The authors meet these objectives.
Audience: The target audience includes practitioners and students. The authors are credible authorities on the subject of Individual Placement and Support.
Features: The first part of the book provides background on how the theory of Individual Placement and Support materialized. The research that is presented along with the measurable outcomes is of particular value. The middle section skillfully explains how the process is done from the first mention that the individual with mental illness wants to return to the workplace to maintaining employment. The third section includes clinical examples and is useful. The appendixes have valuable examples of what can be used in the process of employing someone with a mental illness. The only recommendation that I could offer is to abbreviate the employment specialist to ES since the term is used quite a bit throughout the book.
Assessment: The book is well organized and readable from start to finish and the information is very useful for any practitioner who works in the outpatient setting. The authors are mental health advocates, a fact that shined through.

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