Enhancing Individual Placement and Support: Promoting Job Tenure by Integrating Natural Supports and Supported Education

Abstract

Competitive employment represents a normalized and valued social role for adults in this culture. Individuals with psychiatric disabilities often desire this role and frequently express that employment is a goal in their recovery process. Despite this, they have historically had very low rates of competitive employment and when work is obtained, the employment tenure is alarmingly short. This article proposes the addition of two service enhancements to the most recognized Supported Employment (SE) model, Individual Placement and Support (IPS), -to increase job tenure. The first enhancement is the development of natural support networks to normalize individuals' roles in the workforce and decrease their reliance on paid support. The second enhancement is the establishment of a career ladder by increasing access to and success in postsecondary education and training institutions through Supported Education (SEd). This article identifies the major limitation of the IPS model, short job tenure, and outlines the potential for the proposed service enhancements to address this limitation for people with psychiatric disabilities.

The shift to rapid job placement for people living with mental illness: An analysis of consequences.

“…Rapid job search in the absence of companion IPS principles-job matching, ongoing and comprehensive supports-is not supported by the available evidence. Furthermore, in the case of ODSP-ES, the concept of rapid job search where individuals are encouraged to identify and secure appropriate positions, seems to have morphed into rapid placement, the practice of placing individuals into any available job as quickly as possible (Murphy, Mullen, & Spagnolo, 2005).…”

Perspectives on Employment Integration, Mental Illness and Disability, and Workplace Health

“…Unemployment rates among people with serious mental illness range between 80% and 90% [8][9][10][11], making this group one of the most recipients of social security in Canada and the United States [12,13]. This is unfortunate because most people with the illness desire and can work [5,[14][15][16], but they are excluded from the workforce because of stigma of the illness.…”

“…While the disability associated with the illness may create problems as discussed above, factors, such as poor educational achievements, stigma, lack of adequate vocational and clinical services, policy disincentives to employment, limitations of current disability support management services, legislation, and policy direction related to hiring and accommodating persons with mental health related disabilities, all add to the barriers that workers with mental health illness face [13,21,22]. One of the greatest barriers however is employer stigma and discrimination at the workplace.…”

Using Motivational Interviewing to Increase Retention in Supported Education

“…Alternatively, some studies point to the link between successful participation in education by individuals with psychiatric disabilities and improved work outcomes, including their enduring employment (Jablensky et al, 1999;Murphy, Mullen, & Spagnolo, 2005;Waghorn, Chant, & Whiteford, 2003;Waghorn, Still, Chant, & Whiteford, 2004). Meaningful work is described as a functional indicator of healing and growth beyond the disability, and it is often critical in recovering a personal sense of worth (Bond, Resnick, Drake, Xie, McHugo, & Bebout, 2001).…”