Improving employment support in mental health services
Jan Hutchinson
25 May 2017
Although many people with mental health problems want to work – and would find it helpful in their recovery – they experience many barriers in finding meaningful employment.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS), an approach to supported employment, has become recognised across the world as the most effective approach to helping people with mental health problems to find and keep a job.
IPS is based upon eight principles (each of which is crucial for success), based upon the premise that people are supported into competitive employment first, followed by training and support on the job. It has been proven to be 2-3 times more effective than other employment support approaches (Burns et al., 2007).
This briefing highlights the significant evidence behind the IPS approach, and then demonstrates examples of how Centre for Mental Health is helping to ensure that more people with mental health problems have access to the right support, through a range of projects.
