This study provides some empirical support documenting the association between vocational rehabilitation services and employment outcomes of people with disabilities.

No abstract

Aim This study sought to better understand the population-specific types of social support relevant to adults living with serious mental illness (SMI). Our study was exploratory and used a qualitative approach that centered on uncovering the types of social support meaningful and relevant to persons with SMI. Method The sample comprised of 52 adults receiving county mental health services in the San Francisco Bay Area. Data was gathered from six focus groups and analyzed using NVivo10 and Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill et al., 1997). Results Six qualitative domains were identified: a) Supportive Conditions, b) Day-to-Day Living, c) Illness Management, d) Resources and Information, e) Guidance and Advice, and f) Community Participation Support. Discussion While the six support domains share some broad-based conceptual underpinnings with traditional models of emotional and instrumental support, the domains emerging from our study represent supports uniquely tied to the stressors associated with living with an SMI, and therefore hold conceptual distinction from traditional types of support. Conclusions/Implications Findings from this study offer a conceptual framework for understanding social support for persons living with SMI and lay the groundwork for the development of a SMI-specific measure of social support. In addition, our research permits future researchers to investigate the conditions under which social support buffers the impact of SMI stressors, assisting service providers in more effective identification of individual support needs for clinical intervention.

This research examined the effects of structured group supervision (SGS) on counsellors’ self-efficacy, counselling competency, and job involvement in Singapore. Twenty-one counsellors participated in six, 3-hour SGS sessions over 12 weeks with one qualified counselling supervisor. The counsellors had at least six months’ experience working as counsellors in schools or educational-related settings, such as student care centres. A single-group, before-after design was adopted. Pre- and posttest questionnaires were administered — Counselling Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES), Counsellor's Competence Self-Evaluation Scale (CCSS), and Job Involvement Scale (JIS) — to examine counsellor self-efficacy, counselling competency, and job involvement respectively. Paired-sample t tests were used to examine the impact of SGS on the three measures, whereas the Pearson correlation was used to examine the relationships among them. It was found that there was (a) a significant increase in mean scores for pre- and posttest scores for counsellor self-efficacy and counselling competency, but not for job involvement after SGS; and (b) a significant positive correlation among the three variables. With a better understanding of the SGS and the impact on counsellors, supervision practices can be improved and school counsellors can become more competent and confident.

Social support has achieved national attention as a key component of the mental health recovery paradigm for persons with serious mental illness (SMI). The aim of this study was to investigate the amount of variance accounted for by four social tie characteristics (social network orientation, emotional support, tangible support, and negative exchange) in three outcomes (mental health recovery, loneliness, and quality of life [QOL]). This study also investigated whether social tie characteristics mediated the link between symptom distress and rehabilitation outcomes. Participants were 101 adults with SMI, living in New York City and Boston. Eight measures were used to assess the above constructs. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical regression were conducted. Social tie characteristics contribute significantly to loneliness and recovery, with the amount of variance accounted for by symptom distress in loneliness and mental health recovery increasing significantly when social tie characteristics were added to the model. Mediator analyses revealed that emotional support and negative social exchange mediate the relationship between symptom distress and loneliness. Tangible support mediates the relationship between symptom distress and recovery. Rehabilitation counselors need to assess and inquire about social tie characteristics. Future researchers should investigate the types of support/nonsupport specific to people with SMI.