Using the Americans with Disabilities Act to the advantage of
persons with severe and persistent mental illness: What rehabilitation
counselors need to know
Issue title: New Directions in Vocational Rehabilitation:
Challenges and Opportunities for Researchers, Practitioners, and
Consumers
Affiliations: Department of Counselor Education, The Pennsylvania
State University, PA, USA | Program for Assertive Community Treatment, Madison,
WI, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Liza M. Conyers, Ph.D., CRC,
Department of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology and Rehabilitation
Services, 313 CEDAR Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University
Park, PA 16802-3110, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: This article explains central constructs and definitions underlying
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and discusses their implications for
persons with severe and persistent mental illness, as well as for
rehabilitation counselors working with this population. Focus is placed upon
Title~I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in employment. The article
provides a brief review of legislative history relevant to the integration of
people with mental illness into public life. It proceeds with a discussion of
definitions under Title~I of the ADA. Considerations in applying the ADA to
assist persons with severe and persistent mental illness in employment are
addressed throughout and are discussed in detail in the final section of the
article.
Keywords: mental illness, Americans with Disabilities Act, employment
