Organising for work: A job clinic for people with mental health needs

Abstract

Enabling people with psychiatric disorders to gain job opportunities and work presents a formidable challenge to mental health and vocational rehabilitation workers. Successful programmes emphasise careful assessment and treatment planning processes, job tailoring, interventions to assist work adjustment and continuing support and involvement from the vocational rehabilitation team. This article describes the first 15 months' operation of such a scheme in Northern Ireland. It has succeeded in overcoming organisational barriers to vocational rehabilitation and at the time of writing 91% of the clients are engaged in employment, work training or educational activities. Thirty percent of attenders were in some form of work with previous employment record being the best predictor of this outcome. Needs for additional client support and careful continued monitoring of the scheme are highlighted.