Developing community support for homeless people with mental illness in transition

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services Research
• Social Work Practice
• Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Background:

• Effective transitional services are crucial for individuals with mental illness to ensure continuity of care.
• Critical Time Intervention (CTI) is a short-term psychosocial rehabilitation program aimed at supporting the transition from institutional to community settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the practice of developing community support within Critical Time Intervention (CTI).
• To understand how CTI workers facilitate the transition for individuals with mental illness into community living.

Main Methods:

• Grounded theory methodology was employed.
• Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with twelve CTI workers.

Main Results:

• CTI workers function as "extra support" to develop community ties, aiding clients in sustaining stable housing.
• A transient triangular relationship model, comprising worker-client, worker-primary support, and primary support-client dyads, was identified as central to their practice.
• Key aspects included identifying community supports, managing collaboration and boundaries with primary supports, and client engagement.

Conclusions:

• The findings offer insights into the relational dynamics and strategies employed by CTI workers.
• Recommendations are provided to enhance broader discharge and transitional services for individuals with mental illness.