Employment rehabilitation schemes for people with mental health problems

Although work and employment are important elements in the lives of people recovering from psychiatric illness, their access to meaningful occupation and paid employment is limited. A number of state and voluntary vocational rehabilitation schemes provide training or retraining for open employment but whether this is a realistic aim in the current economic climate has been questioned. This study, using direct observation and informal interviewing, explored the interaction between the staff and trainees of one such rehabilitation workshop. It sought to elicit information about the role of the workshop from both the trainer and trainee perspectives. The results indicate a number of differences between the staff and trainee models and illustrate the problems faced by the workshop in balancing its smooth operation against the needs and expectations of its staff and trainees. In particular, its organization around a relaxed interpretation of the ‘through-put’ concept of rehabilitation did not meet the requirements of all the trainees. We consider how employment rehabilitation schemes can achieve the dual role of both helping service users move into employment or other forms of meaningful occupation, and providing work and work substitutes for long-term users.