Specific Resources for Providers & Administrators

These resources explain vocational recovery and how it is achievable.

• PDF: Beyond the Myths About Job Retention: These workshop slides, based on several research studies, discuss job retention myths among those with psychiatric disabilities as well as how different levels of vocational recovery were achieved, including for those with professional & managerial aspirations.
• PDF: Factors Determining Vocational Recovery: The purpose of this paper is to explore the capacity with which those with psychiatric disabilities can overcome dysfunction in order to work.
• PDF: Substance Use Disorders & Vocational Rehabilitation: The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor deskguide covers a range of topics to guide counselors in helping  consumers  in recovery retain & maintain employment.
• SAMHSA/CSAT Integrating Substance Abuse Treatment & Vocational Services: This resource is Treatment Improvement Protocol #38 that presents a fundamental rethinking of the importance of integrating vocational services into substance abuse treatment planning. The practice of incorporating employment related goals and interventions as a routine practitioner activity is a best practice. The protocol details guidelines for use by providers.
• PDF: A Primer on the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Process: William A. Anthony & Marianne D. Farkas have composed this primer in hopes of clearing up confusion surrounding the process of psychiatric rehabilitation. Its intended audience includes consumers, practitioners, supervisors, trainers, program and system administrators, researchers, and funders. Psychiatric rehabilitation processes and providers’ skills can be integrated with any program model to assist people in Choosing, Getting, & Keeping work.
• PDF: Compendium of Activities for Assessing & Developing Readiness for Rehabilitation Service: These activities for assessing and developing a person’s desire to participate in rehabilitation services are designed for use with persons with long-term psychiatric disabilities in psychiatric centers or outpatient settings (e.g., continuing day treatment & intensive psychiatric rehabilitation treatment programs) and can be helpful for those individuals who are not, as yet, even considering work.
• Vocational Recovery: Want your staff to understand the concept of “Vocational Recovery”? Introduce meaningful work as a necessary component of vocational recovery with a brief PowerPoint training including a script to use with the slides. This will allow everyone from program managers, supported employment specialists or peer providers to prepare for inviting participants to explore employment as a tool for wellness. Vocational_Recovery is an introductory training appropriate for a wide variety of staff and stakeholders to learn more about how meaningful work can contribute to a greater sense of wellness and recovery. Also available is a script for use with the training.

Supported employment (SE) is an evidence based approach to helping people with lived experience return to meaningful work. Explore the details of this practice through the resources listed below.

• IPS Employment Center: IPS (Individual Placement & Support) is an evidence-based practice that was developed by Dartmouth to help people with severe mental illness gain meaningful employment in a field of their choosing.
• Book – A Working Life for People With Severe Mental Illness: This book discusses how supported employment leads to a meaningful working life for participants.
• PDF – Supported Employment: Supported employment has the potential to secure work for those who would normally be considered unemployable. Despite the success of this model, there is still room for improvement. This fact sheet describes ways prevocational training (such as cognitive remediation) and a better understanding of the population can be keys to making a site even more successful.
• Employment Support: Do you want your staff to understand more about how to connect with employers to help in job development? Use these new tools to help conduct a brief training that supports staff in providing this important work. Business2Business is an in-service training to manage the development of partnerships with potential employers. Also available is a script for use with the training.
•  Supported Employment: Building Your Program: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has created this resource for mental health authorities and administrators to support the creation of supported employment programs. Based on the experiences of people like you, this resource provides tips for mental health authorities and agency administrators.

Discover tools & information about supported education through the following resources.

• Supported Education Tools: Disability Research Right to Know features downloadable information concerning supported education, including a summary of current research & a definition of supported education.
•  Supported Education: Building Your Program: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created this guide to support mental health authorities and administrators in creating supported education programs. This resource provides tips from individuals who have successfully worked with supported education including program leaders, administrators, and consumers.
•  Returning to School as a Pathway to Employment: In this webinar, employment expert Dr. Dori Hutchinson answers questions on how providers can best support individuals with serious mental health conditions with education goals.
•  Supported Education for Persons Experiencing a First Episode of Psychosis: This issue brief addresses common barriers to accessing education for young adults with psychiatric disabilities, and the role that supported education can play in educational attainment.

Peers helping peers can be a powerful recovery tool. See below for more information on its benefits, as well as resources on becoming a peer provider.

• PDF: Vocational Peer Support – A New Specialization for Peers Supporting Employment: Vocational Peer Support (VPS) is an approach to supporting people with psychiatric disabilities to explore, pursue, and achieve vocational recovery.
• NAMI Programs: “NAMI offers an array of peer education and training programs & services for consumers, family members, providers, and the general public.”
•  Developing a Peer Workforce for Provision of IPS: What Can Research Tell Us?: In this webinar, Dr. Judith Cook outlines the benefits of integrating peer support into the delivery of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services. Dr. Cook shares research on peer support and IPS.
•  Supervising the Peer Workforce in Behavioral Health Settings: Guest expert Amy Pierce answers questions regarding the supervision of peer specialists in this installment of Ask Me Anything about Employment.
•  Preparing Your Workplace for Peer Integration: This webinar, with presenter Stephanie Ramos of Cal Voices, is aimed at administrators to prepare them to incorporate peer specialists into the organizations that they work within.

These materials can help providers keep up to date with research, practices, and topics relevant to recovery and vocational rehabilitation.

• Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association Online Courses: PRA features this list of courses available through their website.
• Course: Job Development & Job Retention for Persons in Recovery: The Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation invites interested persons to consider our distance learning course for those who work as Employment Specialists, Rehabilitation Counselors, Employment Networks, Vocational Peer Specialists and others who assist persons in mental health recovery towards successful employment. The course will be given over a 10 week period of time (multiple times during the year).
• NAMI Programs: “Across the country, thousands of trained NAMI volunteers bring peer-led programs to a wide variety of community settings, from churches to schools to NAMI Affiliates. With the unique understanding of people with lived experience, these programs and support groups provide outstanding free education, skills training and support.”
• PDF: Facilitator’s Manual for A Practical Guide for People With Mental Health Conditions Who Want to Work: Although the Practical Guide was designed to be a self-help tool, this accompanying Facilitator’s Manual was developed to provide structured and semi-structured ways to use the Guide. Both of these resources were designed to help individuals with psychiatric disabilities who are considering employment.

• Accommodating Veteran Employees with Mental Health Challenges: This report provides resources for those involved in the employment of veteran employees who suffer from service-related disability.
• PDF – Photovoice: Using photography and writing, Photovoice gives a voice to an underrepresented portion of the community. This empowering tool is commonly used at BU’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and has been part of several randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of peer-run Photovoice-based interventions.
• International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD): ICCD helps communities around the world create ICCD Clubhouses, which are community centers that give people with mental illnesses hope & opportunities to reach their full potential. Clubhouses include a “work ordered” day which provides opportunities for people to explore their vocational interests while being supported in doing volunteer and paid work.