Ulla Nygren

Individual placement and support - a model to get employed for people with mental illness - the first Swedish report of outcomes.

Lack of participation in the open labour market is highly prevalent for people with a mental illness across countries, and the proportion of people who get some kind of sickness benefit because of mental illness is steadily growing in Europe. Vocational rehabilitation through individual placement and support (IPS) has been shown to be effective and is evidence-based for people with severe mental illness. In Sweden, the method is used but not scientifically evaluated. The aim was to investigate vocational and nonvocational outcomes at a 1-year follow-up and the relationships between these outcomes, at two different sites in the north of Sweden. The participants were 65 men and women, mostly younger than 30 years of age and with a mental illness. Occupational situation, psychiatric symptoms, self-esteem, quality of life and psychosocial functioning were assessed. The vocational outcome during 1 year was that 25% of the participants were employed, and 14% were in education. Most of the participants moved from unemployment to work practice for a prolonged time. Participants in employment, education or work practice at follow-up showed higher satisfaction with their occupational situation than those without regular activities outside home. Among the participants in work practice, improvements in psychiatric symptoms and global functioning were identified. This attempt is the first to evaluate supported employment according to the IPS model for persons with mental illness applied in the Swedish welfare system. There is a need for a longer follow-up period to evaluate whether interventions such as further education and work practice actually will lead to real work.

Exploring perceptions of occupational competence among participants in Individual Placement and Support (IPS)

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of occupational competence and occupational value among a group of clients engaged in Individual Placement and Support (IPS). Methods: The Occupational Self-Assessment (OSA), based on the Model of Human Occupation, was used with 65 men and women with mental illness, and 45 of these completed the study. Results: Rasch analyses showed that the participants perceived “Managing my finances”, “Managing my basic needs”, and “Doing activities I like” as the most valued occupations. Most competence was perceived in “Taking care of myself”. Among the occupations where the participants perceived least competence, “Getting done what I need to do” and “Accomplishing what I set out to do” were the occupations that most stand out. Significant differences were also found between perceived competence and value in most of the occupations. Conclusions: Beyond those occupations valued as most important among the participants, it is essential also to pay attention to those in which they perceived least competence, as they are important for being able to achieve a desired occupation. Support related to perceptions of occupational competence can contribute to enabling clients in IPS to master a desired working life.

Processes towards employment among persons with psychiatric disabilities: a study of two individual placement and support programmes in Sweden

Individual placement and support (IPS) has been found to be an effective intervention for rehabilitation to work in the field of mental health. Being as the principles used in IPS reflect core values in the concept of personal recovery, several other outcomes than just the percentage of clients gaining employment are of interest. The purpose of the study was to describe a number of unique processes and analyze these with a special concern for circumstances perceived as important for the individual IPS process. A collective instrumental case-study design was used and five cases were included. Data from three different sources were collected, both quantitative and qualitative. The findings illustrate how a relationship characterized by curiosity, interest and engagement in the individual client, positive risk-taking and time for reflected experiences resulted in processes of change. It was concluded that providing IPS is a type of specialized relationship-based work that includes advanced problem solving.