Issue 22
This electronic update is written by SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health (ADS Center), a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Office of Consumer Affairs. We invite you to share this information with your friends and colleagues who share your interest in confronting prejudice and discrimination associated with mental illness and to post this information in your own newsletters or listservs. Visit the ADS Center on the Web at http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov.
In this issue...
A Letter from the ADS Center
Spotlight: Archived Training Teleconference
Online Resources
Research
Models, Programs, and Technical Assistance Tools... OpenMindsOpenDoors
In My Experience... Moving Forward in Recovery, by Kyle Lloyd
A Letter from the ADS Center
The workforce includes many individuals with mental health problems who, like other employees, contribute greatly to the success of the organizations that employ them. However, unlike their colleagues, people with mental health conditions may experience misunderstanding, social exclusion, and discrimination by employers or other employees due to prejudicial beliefs and attitudes about people with mental illnesses in the workplace.
There are benefits to employers and employees when a business decides to promote a mentally healthy workplace. A mentally healthy workplace can positively affect productivity, cost-containment of health care, and employee retention. When employers value practices and policies that promote the mental health and well-being of their employees, perceptions and attitudes about mental illnesses improve and acceptance of these issues in the workplace increases. Some of the factors involved in a mentally healthy workplace include an atmosphere that welcomes diversity; health care that treats mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses; programs and/or practices that promote and support employee health-wellness and/or work-life balance; and training for managers and supervisors in mental health workplace issues.
This update focuses on the issue of mental health in the workplace and the need for social inclusion.
Sincerely,
The ADS Center
Spotlight: Archived Training Teleconferences
The ADS Center recently conducted a successful training teleconference, entitled "Promoting Acceptance and Social Inclusion for People with Mental Health Problems in the Workplace." Over 500 individuals participated in the training indicating continued interest in the valuable resources and timely topics the Center has offered to the field.
This training provides:
- An overview of the challenges that individuals with mental health problems encounter in the workplace.
- Strategies for employers to promote acceptance and social inclusion and highlight businesses that have done a good job.
- Information and resources regarding supported employment and other strategies for employment success.
The workforce includes many individuals with mental health problems who, like other employees, contribute greatly to the success of the organizations that employ them. However, unlike their colleagues, people with mental health conditions may experience misunderstanding, social exclusion, and discrimination by employers or other employees due to prejudicial beliefs and attitudes about people with mental illnesses in the workplace.
The presenters (Dr. Beth Loy, Clare Miller, and Nicole Clevenger) provided their expertise and insights into the benefits to employers and employees when a business decides to promote a mentally healthy workplace. A mentally healthy workplace can positively affect productivity, cost-containment of health care, and employee retention. When employers value practices and policies that promote the mental health and well-being of their employees, perceptions and attitudes about mental illnesses improve and acceptance of these issues in the workplace increases. Some of the factors involved in a mentally healthy workplace include an atmosphere that welcomes diversity; health care that treats mental illnesses with the same urgency as physical illnesses; programs and/or practices that promote and support employee health-wellness and/or work-life balance; and training for managers and supervisors in mental health workplace issues.
Beth Loy, Ph.D., a Principal Consultant with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), leads JAN's external evaluation process and internal continuous improvement process, providing leadership to JAN's teams of service delivery and information systems. Dr. Loy is a national researcher and speaker in the disability field and has a Ph.D. in Resource Economics with a specialization in social policy.
Clare Miller serves as the Director of the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation which advances effective employer approaches to mental health by combining the knowledge and experience of the American Psychiatric Association and its employer partners. Learn more at www.workplacementalhealth.org.
Nicole M. Clevenger, BFA, is a Consultant and Trainer for the Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SE CCOE). Currently, she assists mental health centers in evidence-based Supported Employment implementation through on-site training, consultation, and fidelity reviews. Nicole is also working on an Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) sponsored collaborative initiative with peer centers/Consumer-Operated services in Ohio to help increase employment for people living with severe mental illness. Through her work at the CCOE, Nicole has written several articles and assisted in production of an audio resource describing her personal back-to-work story.
The call was recorded and can be accessed online Need link here. A transcript of the call and the presentation files also are available online
Online Resources
Mental Health: It's Part of Every Workplace (Booklet and Toolkit) (en Español)
Companies that proactively address overall mental health in the workplace can realize significant benefits. Mental health friendly practices can bring greater productivity, reduced insurance costs, and improved retention. They can, in fact, affect the entire culture of the company. SAMHSA has developed a variety of materials: a guide for business leaders and a toolkit for human resource personnel and managers that can help businesses make mental health promotion a part of their workplace.
The Center for Reintegration
The Center for Reintegration is a non-profit organization committed to helping people with mental health problems pursue a meaningful life through reintegration-- the process by which a person with a mental illness finds meaningful work, restores his or her relationships, and moves toward independent living. To help achieve these goals, the Center for Reintegration provides useful information and support tools for consumers, caregivers, employers, family and friends.
Recovery at Work: A Guide to Implementing Effective Employment Services for People with Psychiatric Disabilities
This manual was developed by Mental Health America to help employers understand, promote and implement state-of-the-art employment services in their community. The manual explains the differences between employment services and why some are more effective than others.
Mental health and work: Impact, Issues and Good Practices
This report discusses a variety of topics, including the importance of work to a person’s mental health, promotion of mental health in the workplace, issues facing employers and managers. It is hoped that this document will assist employers and employees in raising awareness of the benefits of good mental health practices and encourage the implementation of strategies to maintain a healthy working environment.
Job Accommodation Network
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the U.S. Department of Labor. JAN is one of several ODEP projects. JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, self-employment and small business opportunities and related subjects.
Partnership for Workplace Mental Health
The Partnership for Workplace Mental Health advances effective employer approaches to mental health by combining the knowledge and experience of the American Psychiatric Association and their employer partners. It delivers educational materials and provides a forum to explore mental health issues and share innovative solutions.
Routes to Work
A project of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Routes to Work, seeks to counter social exclusion and discrimination in the workplace and other barriers to employment.
Research
Baldwin, M.L., Marcus, S.C. Perceived and measured stigma among workers with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services. 2006 March; 57(3):338-392.
Cook, S., Chambers, E., Coleman, J.H. Occupational therapy for people with psychotic conditions in community settings: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2009 January; 23(1):40-52.
Dalgin, R.S., Gilbride, D. Perspectives of people with psychiatric disabilities on employment disclosure. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 2003 Winter; 23(3):306-310.
Dunn, E.C., Wewiorski, N.J., Rogers, E.S. The meaning and importance of employment to people in recovery from serious mental illness: results of a qualitative study. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 2008 Summer; 32(1):59-62.
Nithsdale, V., Davies, J., Croucher, P. Psychosis and the experience of employment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2008 June; 18(2):175-182.
Scheid, T.L. Stigma as a barrier to employment: mental disability and the Americans with Disabilities Act. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2005; 28(6):670-690.
Stuart, H. Mental illness and employment discrimination. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2006 September; 19(5):522-526.
Stuart H. Stigma and work. Healthcare Papers. 2004; 5(2)100-111.
Tsang, H.W., Ng, B.F., Chiu, F.P. Job profiles of people with severe mental illness: implications for rehabilitation. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research. 2002 September; 25(3):189-196.
OpenMindsOpenDoors (OMOD) is a Pennsylvania initiative aimed at ending discrimination against people with mental illnesses. OMOD focuses on creating awareness and reducing discrimination and social exclusion for all Pennsylvanians. The OMOD campaign is centered around the following five key messages:
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People who have mental health problems have the same needs as everyone else.
- People who have mental health problems can and do recover and live productive lives.
- PPeople who have mental health problems make valuable contributions to society.
- PDiscrimination against people who have mental health problems keeps them from seeking help.
- PDiscrimination against people who have mental health problems violates their basic human rights.
However, each year the campaign focuses on a key audience, developing specific strategies, goals, and materials for that audience. Materials are used as supplements in campaign presentations and in outreach efforts across the State. Currently, the campaign is working with employers, providers, and legislators. OMOD has developed materials aimed at employers including; Mental Health in the Workplace: An Investment in Human Capital and the Employer Guide for Providers.
For further information about OpenMindsOpenDoors, contact OMOD at OpenMindsOpenDoors
c/o MHAPA, 1414 N. Cameron Street, 1st Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17103, Phone: 717-346-0549,
Email: info@openmindsopendoors.com.
In My Experience... Moving Forward in Recovery, by Kyle Lloyd
I was just 19 years of age and beginning to get my sea legs firmed up and well into my US Navy enlistment when my illness hit me. At the Portsmouth Naval Regional Medical Center I was hospitalized for approximately 9 months and diagnosed with Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder. In treatment, I was stabilized with medications and therapy.
My symptoms included delusions of the "television telling me what to do" and "monitoring my thoughts and holding me hostage to its agenda.”
My recovery was facilitated greatly by personal recognition of positive and negative symptoms associated with my diagnosis and self-realization that indeed I had a mental illness. Denial worked against me for many years.
The NAMI Peer-to-Peer Course assisted me greatly in developing a recovery plan and taking steps forward that were appropriate for me.
Since entering a state of recovery, I have strongly advocated for others. I have written grant requests in support of fellow peers that were also homeless. I further developed and re-established a new profession for myself in the field as a Peer Specialist or Consumer/Provider.
For four years I served as Chairman for a Statewide Consumer Council and proactively advocated for the passage of our new "Parity Legislation" and other bills to support and protect the rights of individuals with mental health problems.
My experiences of stigma and discrimination were often cloaked as "Restructuring or Reduction in Force Layoffs." I overcame these situations by fierce perseverance, bold determination, and absolutely never quitting.
I have actively helped others in their recovery as a Consumer/Provider by providing the services they needed to daily live their lives and succeed in the community. I am a role model of recovery and I willingly facilitate interested consumers with developing personal Wellness Recovery Action Plans.
Changing the mental health system is an evolutionary process that I am involved with in my day-to-day employment. The changes that need to happen include eradicating stigma and all barriers cultivated by ignorance and bias; and promoting social inclusion, or the restoration of dignity, to individuals with serious mental illness with community/family supports.
Living in the community supports my recovery. Recovery has empowered me to contribute more to community; re-entrance with advocacy has been the biggest help.
I choose to self-disclose my mental health condition, so that I can remain honest, open-minded, and willing to participate in the reality that is my life. I cannot hide behind anyone or anything anymore and receive validation until I can self-disclose. When I understand that others can be accepting of me, if I allow that, I can change the world by openly sharing who I am.
To read more about consumer perspectives on the value of Self Disclosure please access the following publication; Self Disclosure and Its Impact on Individuals Who Receive Mental Health Services.
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