Strategies for integrated employment and mental health services

Individual placement and support (IPS) supported employment for people with mental illness is most effective when mental health and employment services are fully integrated within teams in a single agency. Despite this evidence, there are times when separate mental health and employment agencies must collaborate rather than integrate. This article examines how 3 state implementation teams helped separate agencies to partner on IPS supported employment.

The authors used qualitative interviews and direct observations to examine successful collaborations in 3 states. We visited IPS programs on multiple occasions, interviewed multiple stakeholders, and evaluated adherence to the principles of IPS.

Leaders used 4 strategies to promote successful collaborations: (a) ensuring that employment specialists, and in some cases, vocational rehabilitation counselors, attended mental health treatment team meetings; (b) providing office space for employment staff at the mental health agency; (c) involving supervisors from both agencies in the implementation; and (d) using fidelity reviews to assess the quality of collaboration.

Practitioners from separate agencies can coordinate services effectively, but successful coordination requires leadership at the state and local levels.