Desirable Characteristics and Competencies of Supported Employment Specialists: An Empirically-Grounded Framework

Abstract

The Individual Placement and Support model of supported employment is one of the most robust interventions available for people with severe mental illness. Supported employment specialists deliver this intervention. There has been little research on what influences specialists' performance in the field. This paper redresses this deficit by documenting characteristics and competencies self-reported by specialists as influential to proficient performance in the field. Twenty-two qualitative interviews were conducted with specialists and their supervisors. Content analysis suggested the importance of eight factors: (1) initiative; (2) outreach; (3) persistence; (4) hardiness; (5) empathy; (6) passion; (7) team orientation (8) professionalism.

Practitioner perspectives on Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for individuals with serious mental illness

“…For example, past examinations of IPS practitioners have revealed an emphasis on cultural competence (Tilson & Simonsen, 2013) which was not readily apparent in our findings. Other factors that were mentioned with surprisingly low frequency in contrast to past research were: Engaging with families, maintaining a proactive approach, prioritizing tasks, and performing outreach activities (Glover & Frounfelker, 2013;Tilson & Simonsen, 2013;Whitley et al, 2010). These factors may not be as relevant to the practitioners that we surveyed, or our methods did not sufficiently capture these factors.…”

“…These results are largely consistent with other qualitative examinations of IPS practitioners. Whitley et al, (2010) presented eight self-identified characteristics of successful practitioners: initiative, outreach, persistence, hardiness, empathy, passion, professionalism and team orientation. Similarly, Glover and Frounfelker (2013) identified three major factors of successful practitioners based on a qualitative comparison of more and less effective employment specialists.…”

“…In a comparison of more and less effective practitioners, Glover and Frounfelker (2013) presented three factors that characterized more competent employment specialists. Similarly, Whitley, Kostick, and Bush (2010) identified eight essential competencies of IPS practitioners based on interviews with both practitioners and supervisors. Practitioners from high-performing programs can serve as resources for programs striving to hire, train and retain quality employment services staff.…”

Experiences of the individual placement and support approach in persons with severe mental illness

“…This finding is in line with what Bejerholm and Björkman (9) hypothesized that empowerment may be part of the process involved in IPS. Furthermore, recent IPS research has also attended to the relationship between the ES and the service user (16, 23) and the impact of this relationship on work outcomes (24). In addition, our results are in accordance with the results of Johnson et al.…”

Evidence-based supported employment for people with severe mental illness: Past, current, and future research

“…Qualitative rehabilitation researchers are working to incorporate cultural awareness into IPS programs. Certain competencies important to employment specialist performance are probably inseparable from cultural awareness, including empathy, professionalism, and honoring client preferences (Glover & Frounfelker, 2011a, 2011bWhitley, Kostick, & Bush, 2010). Whether or not cultural sensitivity training improves the effectiveness of services is uncertain (Solomon, 2008), but awareness of multicultural issues among service providers will likely enhance the service experience of IPS clients from diverse ethno-racial backgrounds.…”