Improving Employment Outcomes for People with a Mental Illness: Progress in the Hunter New England Region of NSW

Engagement in employment has been associated with significant financial, social and health benefits for people with a mental illness. However, as a population, people with mental illness experience high levels of unemployment and often have difficulty accessing services to support them.

Literature indicates that people with a psychotic illness have the worst employment outcomes of any disability group. Given the onset of mental illness often occurs in late adolescence, there is much to be done to prevent the disruption to employment and career trajectory that may occur with this illness experience.

Emma will discuss the progress of the implementation of evidence based employment services within the Hunter New England region mental health services in NSW. This region has been the leader in the state of NSW in the implementation of the Individual Placement and Support Model of supported employment.

Emma will describe the background to this model and its close alignment with the delivery of recovery based mental health services. Outcomes of the implementation of this model across nine different metropolitan and rural sites will be highlighted and compared to international benchmarks in this field.

Ms Emma Robson & Emma Smith, Occupational Therapists, Vocational Education Training and Employment Service, Hunter New England Mental Health will present at the:

13th International Mental Health Conference, "Positive Change -- Investing in Mental Health"  6th to the 8th of August 2012, on the Gold Coast. 

Web: http://anzmh.asn.au/conference Email: conference@anzmh.asn.au