Clubhouse Partnerships with Clinical Services: Current Status and Barriers to Integration

The Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation has supported the recovery of people with serious mental illness for over 75 years, but many of the roughly 350 Clubhouses are not well-integrated into the larger health care system, limiting their reach. This article examines Clubhouses' and psychiatric providers' interactions and experiences to understand the nature of and barriers to partnerships. The directors of Clubhouses affiliated with Clubhouse International were surveyed, examining their attitudes and practices around collaboration with psychiatric providers. To provide context, psychiatric providers were also surveyed regarding their understanding of and experiences with Clubhouses. Findings reveal broad support among both Clubhouse directors and psychiatrists for enhancing partnerships, despite current barriers, limited interactions, and the need for greater mutual understanding. Key considerations that emerged include the importance of maintaining the Clubhouse model's distinct non-clinical, community-based, and member-directed identity in any integration efforts.