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Mental health consumers as case management aides
1Harris County (Tex.) Mental Health and Mental Retardation Administration.
Hospital & Community Psychiatry
|May 1, 1991
Summary
Mental health consumers trained as case management aides demonstrated successful employment and significantly reduced psychiatric hospitalizations. This psychiatric rehabilitation project highlights the effectiveness of integrated vocational support for individuals with chronic mental illness.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Vocational Psychology
Background:
- Chronic mental illness presents significant challenges to sustained employment.
- Integrating mental health services with vocational rehabilitation is crucial for consumer recovery.
- The role of peer support in mental health recovery is increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the process of training and employing mental health consumers as case management aides.
- To evaluate the employment outcomes and psychiatric hospitalization rates of trained consumers.
- To assess the effectiveness of a cooperative psychiatric rehabilitation project.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment, selection, and training protocols for consumer case management aides.
- Collaboration between mental health, vocational rehabilitation, and occupational education agencies.
- Longitudinal follow-up to assess employment retention and psychiatric hospitalization.
Main Results:
- 17 out of 25 trainees (68%) secured employment as case management aides.
- 15 trainees maintained employment at two-year follow-up.
- Employed aides required only two days of psychiatric hospitalization post-training.
Conclusions:
- Training and employing individuals with chronic mental illness as case management aides is feasible and effective.
- This model significantly reduces psychiatric hospitalization rates.
- Cooperative arrangements between service systems enhance consumer outcomes.