Enhancing Work-Focused Supports for People with Severe Mental Illnesses in Australia
Authors: Contreras N, Rossell S, Castle D, Fossey E, Morgan D, Crosse C, Harvey C
Year: 2012
Source: Rehabilitation Research and Practice 2012:8 pages.
Abstract: Persons with severe mental illness (SMI) have reduced workforce participation, which leads to significant economic and social disadvantage. This theoretical review introduces the strategies that have been implemented to address this issue. These include Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services, the most widely researched form of supported employment, to which cognitive remediation has more recently been recognised in the USA, as an intervention to improve employment outcomes by addressing the cognitive impairments often experienced by people with SMI. The authors review the international literature and discuss specifically the Australian context. They suggest that Australia is in a prime position to engage clients in such a dual intervention, having had recent success with increasing access to supported employment programs and workforce reentry, through implementation of the Health Optimisation Program for Employment (HOPE). Such programs assist with gaining and maintaining employment. However, they do not address the cognitive issues that often prevent persons with SMI from effectively participating in work. Thus, optimising current interventions, with work-focused cognitive skills development is critical to enhancing employment rates that remain low for persons with SMI. Abstract originally from the Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Reprinted with permission under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Institution: nata_cg@hotmail.com. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred and Monash University, Central Clinical School, Melbourne, VIC 3004
Language: English
Subject headings: Psychiatric disabilities, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation research
Geographic areas: Australia, Oceania