Affiliations: Policy and Economics Group, The Queensland Centre for
Mental Health Research (QCMHR), The School of Population Health, The University
of Queensland, QLD, Australia | General Manager Research and Organisational
Development, Mental Illness Fellowship, Victoria, Australia | ORYGEN Research Centre & The Department of
Psychology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Vocational Education, Training and Employment Service,
Hunter New England Mental Health Service, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Geoffrey Waghorn, Queensland
Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park Centre for Mental Health,
Richlands, QLD 4076, Australia. Tel.: +61 3271 8673; Fax: +61 3271 8698;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Labor force non-participation, unemployment, disrupted education and
disrupted career pathways exacerbate the social and economic marginalization of
people with severe mental illness. One way to address this problem is to
introduce evidence-based supported employment. One key ingredient, integrating
vocational services into publicly-funded mental health services, is recognized
as the missing component of evidence-based practices in Australia. During 2006,
seven sites independently attempted to implement evidence-based supported
employment. Early stage implementation challenges to the introduction of
evidence-based practices were identified for this descriptive summary. While
the establishment of evidence-based supported employment appears feasible, when
actually attempted, multiple and sometimes unique practical challenges emerged
at each site. The major difficulties were related to service integration and
utilizing the existing Federal disability employment system. Establishing
sustainable partnerships between the mental health and disability employment
sectors, through co-location of employment specialists within mental health
teams, remains a promising way forward. The early implementation experiences of
these Australian sites add to international knowledge on how best to implement
evidence-based employment services for people with psychiatric
disabilities.
Keywords: Supported employment, mental illness, psychiatric disability, evidence-based practice
