Supporting Clients with Mental Health Challenges: What Career Practitioners Need to Know

1. What Career Practitioners Need to Know: Supporting clients with mental health challenges NEXT STEPS Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee Cannexus 2013 Conference, January 28th, 2013, Ottawa, ON

2. Project Partners • CERIC - funder • NSCDA - project sponsor • N.S. province-wide approach Kathy McKee • Manager Career Resource Centre • Career Practitioner • Board NSCDA • Chair Career Managers Network NS • Project management Neasa Martin • Charting the Course researcher • 30 yrs mental health experience • Rehabilitation medicine • 10 years as consultant • Focus on stigma, discrimination, peer support, recovery & social inclusion Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

3. Project’s Roots  Numbers of clients presenting with mental health issues,  disclosure. Do ‘they’ belong? Are Career Practitioner attitudes (stigma) a barrier? Transformational research: Shared research on stigma, surveys, regional meetings, roundtables… What do we need to know to provide effective services? Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

4. What did we find? Contact is common - disclosure is not. • No ‘them” & “us”. Mental health problems affects many - including CPs. • Disclosure tied to acceptance / perceived advantage. • Impact of mhp huge (confidence, finances, employment, socially). Career Practitioners need to know about: • stigma, mental illness, treatment, legal rights & entitlements, resources, peer support, coaching, recovery, supporting employers. CP rate current knowledge & skills higher than their clients do. • CP not great at: sharing tools for work, supporting mh client, LESS likely to refer mh clients for training. • CP satisfaction working with clients high - so are frustrations. Stigma & discrimination common in services, policies & community. • Clients report it as more common. CP with mhp feel its sting. • Major barrier to employment. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

5. Findings cont. CP & mental health clients agree: • Work is important, recovery is possible, don’t need to be symptom free. • No less reliable employees. May need accommodations. • Clients face multiple barriers - poverty, housing, transportation, health issues… • Internal barriers - insight, illness management, self stigma, loss of hope. What is critical to CP / client relationship: • Attitudes: Choice, inclusion, see capacity, trust, respect, fairness, privacy, hope, compassion. Focus on work not illness. • Knowledge: mh & support services, accommodations. • Skills in assessment, motivating and coaching re: employment Service-level policy barriers: • Policies limit CPs, service structures (mh clients referred on), funding models, time constraints, creating service partnerships. System issues: • Limited mh services, narrow focus, disability funding model, siloed services. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

6. Identified Training Needs • Stigma & social inclusion • How & when to refer to services - focused on employment. • Legal rights & accommodations. • Managing disclosure + / -. • Assessment tools, motivation & adult learning tools. • Coaching, recovery concepts. • Peer support & role in employment. • Ways to support employers. • Labour market trends & opportunities. • Promoting mentally health workplaces. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

7. Preferred Training Approaches Make training accessible ($, access) • Mental Health First Aid. • Joint training with mental health professionals. • Consumer-led workshops. • Mentorship to reinforce learning. • Case-based teaching. • Workplace seminars. • Prof. development workshops. • Print/web materials for clients. NSCDA take the lead. • Take a lead on training. • Promote co-ordination of services & systems. • Advocate gov. for policies & funding practices that remove barriers & improve employment. • Tools to support employers - accommodations. • Recommend inclusion in National CP Guidelines. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

8. Take away learning Change required: • Individual level. • Workplace practices. • Community level. • Whole-government approach to social inclusion. Next steps: • CERIC Grant for training. • Bell Foundation grant for MHF focused on CPs. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

9. Changing training, policies & practices • Changing attitudes • Personal contact • Education • Protest

10. From ME to WEA CRC Experience It started with - What is wrong with people? And then became – What is wrong with us? the individual the organization the community the society Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

11. Learning…the individual • What are my issues? • How do I feel about these clients? • What have I been taught? • What are my values about who “deserves” my time? the individual Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

12. Learning…the organization • Disclosure. • Understanding. ‘compassion fatigue’. • Knowing when to refer. • How’s your mental health? • What if we talked to clients directly about challenges? • Peer support. the organization Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

13. Learning…the community • Mental health stream @ conference. • Discrimination. • What are services called and who provides them. • Lack of knowledge of what services exist. • Competition for funding. the community Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

14. Learning…the society • How do policies handcuff CPs from providing the best services. • Do we value differences. • Do we allow discrimination in the form of sub-par services. the society If change doesn’t occur with the individual it is difficult to make organizational, community or societal change. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

15. Discussion…. • How do our findings align with your experience? • What are your learning needs? Preferred approach? • Are there partnership opportunities? • Recommendations? Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

16. http://chartingthecourse.nscda. Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee