Project WINS: Integrating vocational services on mental health case management teams

Abstract

In an effort to expand employment opportunities available to psychiatric consumers, a research demonstration project was developed to incorporate vocational services into case management teams. Following psychiatric rehabilitation principles, Project WINS employs professionals as Vocational Specialists and consumers as Peer Support Specialists to work with clients and their case managers. This report describes the characteristics of clients eligible for WINS services, the implementation of the program, and the impact of WINS on clients and on the mental health and vocational systems. It also describes the challenges and barriers this innovative service is confronting.

Enhanced vocational rehabilitation for Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury and mental illness: Pilot study

“…The program is also designed as an embedded cognitive rehabilitation program within the VA vocational rehabilitation programs in two ways: (1) all cognitive rehabilitation materials were specific to return to work goals and (2) vocational rehabilitation specialists participated in the program, meeting with the Veterans and their cognitive rehabilitation specialists at the end of each session to review intervention material taught and discuss application of the material to real-world, work-related goals. Embedding cognitive rehabilitation within vocational rehabilitation is likely to offer benefits over simply adding it as an adjunct to vocational rehabilitation, consistent with the body of literature demonstrating increased effectiveness of integrated mental health and vocational rehabilitation services when compared with traditional brokered service models [23,[46][47][48][49]. One advantage of embedded services is the improved flow of communication about cognitive function, rehabilitation efforts, and vocational rehabilitation progress that can be used by multiple specialists involved in helping the Veteran meet vocational goals.…”

An Evaluation of the Impact of Clubhouse Membership On Quality of Life and Treatment Utilization

“…A component of the program is a consumer-oriented self-help employment centre. Others have advocated the integration of vocational and psychosocial rehabilitation with case management services (Bond, 1994;Mowbray, 1993;Mowbray et al 1992).…”

Cognitive impairment as barrier to engagement in vocational services among veterans with severe mental illness

“…Integrated programs offer the advantage of motivating clients toward vocational pursuits and individually tailoring the level of support and follow-up needed for a clinical outcome that includes employment. There have been several successful efforts to integrate mental health services and VS [65][66], and studies have provided support for the effectiveness of integrated models over the traditional brokered service model, which uses separate agencies for mental health and VS [67][68][69][70][71].…”