This study was designed to identify correlates of success in Supported Employment (SE) programs for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Indiana policy-makers are seriously considering a managed care, or "capitated," system of payment to make SE provider programs more efficient economically. However, many agencies are concerned about providing services to more severely impaired individuals because of the potentially higher costs of serving these individuals. Two studies are included in this project. The goals of the first study were to identify SE consumer (clinical) characteristics that predict (1) successful outcomes, defined as whether the consumer achieves gainful work, and (2) program costs, defined as the amounts of SE service hours utilized by consumers who obtain work. In two large samples of SE consumers with serious mental illness, no clinical characteristics (e.g., diagnosis, rated functioning, hospitalization history) were associated with vocational outcome or service costs. The goal of the second study was to describe the types and amounts of services utilized by SE consumers who obtain work. Specific service categories associated with obtaining work were travel, training, and advocacy that was unrelated to the consumer's job. The implications of these findings are discussed in the framework of the debate over clinical versus empirical prediction. The need for a theoretical model of SE services that allows the use of predictive clinical and consumer driven services is also discussed. / Department of Psychological Science

There is growing evidence of the important role that family members play in the support and recovery of individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Provider Education Program (PEP) trains providers of mental health services to work collaboratively with families in the treatment of individuals with a mental illness. This study examines the effect of the NAMI-PEP on Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) provider representations of and services provided to families at Frontenac Community Mental Health Services. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research are combined to explore ACT provider beliefs about, feelings toward and services provided to families before and after participating the NAMI-PEP. Findings suggest that the NAMI-PEP is effective in initiating changes in provider representations of family at a cognitive level. Changes in provider views are detected indicating movement toward a strengths-based orientation and an improved understanding of the components of collaborative practice with families. Analysis of changes to ACT practice patterns illuminates the challenges of implementing cultural change at an organizational level and identifies a fertile area for further research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Purdue University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on April 1, 2010). Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Gary R. Bond. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-77).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Purdue University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on May 25, 2010). Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Gary R. Bond, John McGrew, Kevin Rand, Dennis Devine. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-85).

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The primary purpose of the current study was to determine the relationship between employment and the nonvocational functioning of people with severe mental illness in a prospective 24 month study, as a partial replication of another study. An employment typology was utilized that was comprised of participants at four employment levels: no work (those who did not work the entire study period), minimal work (those who worked 24 weeks or less in competitive and/or noncompetitive, paid employment), paid work (those who worked 24 or more weeks, the majority of which was spent in noncompetitive, paid employment), and competitive work (those who worked 24 or more weeks, the majority of which was spent in competitive employment). Both objective and subjective outcomes were addressed, including quality of life, symptoms, psychiatric hospitalizations, social networks, and residential status. Participants consisted of persons with severe mental illness (most with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder) who were receiving employment services at a large, urban psychiatric rehabilitation center. Mixed effects regression modeling and logistic regression were used to analyze the date. Results indicate that the competitive work group experienced an accelerated improvement in negative symptoms across time and was less likely to have psychiatric hospitalization days as compared with the no work group. The paid work group showed an accelerated improvement in social network scores across time as compared with the no work, minimal work, and competitive work groups. The full sample demonstrated improvements across the study period regardless of employment typology status in the areas of overall quality of life, financial quality of life, cognitive symptoms, and social networks. In conclusion, this study adds to the growing body of evidence indicating that work, particularly periods of extended competitive work may lead to important benefits in clinical and social domains, although threats to internal validity that could not be ruled out preclude a causal link from being established. Future research is needed to further investigate this relationship, particularly in regards to those outcomes that are not well understood, such as residential status.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

No description available.

This thesis explores the collaborative practice between psychiatrists and chaplains within three mental healthcare facilities in south central Ontario, Canada. From an overview of the current literature, there has been a renewed interest by psychiatrists in the healing qualities of religion and spirituality. However, the literature also reveals that psychiatrists have a tendency not to be interested in spiritual matters. So, despite the renewed interest in the effects of spirituality on persons with mental illness and the positive outcomes that the research reveals, many psychiatrists remain unconvinced about the use of spirituality in their practice. In the light of this, I undertook this research into the lived experiences of twelve psychiatrists and ten chaplains within three mental healthcare facilities within south central Ontario. From an overview of the literature, I noted the lack of engagement by chaplains in performing research and the lack of a theological focus on the collaborative practice between these two disciplines. This study is located within the discipline of practical theology using a transversal model of praxis. Through the use of hermeneutic phenomenology as both methodology and method within a qualitative framework, I engaged some of the fundamentals of the concepts within the work of the philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer,1 in order to gain access into the collaborative practices between psychiatrists and chaplains. Using the transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue, I come to an understanding of the array of collaborative or non-collaborative practices between psychiatrists and chaplains. I then come to the understanding that in many instances, it is up to the chaplain to lead the way in collaborative practice. Drawing on the Christian notion of hospitality, the persuasive communication techniques used by Jesus and current organization theories within healthcare, I bring about a more robust collaborative practice with psychiatrists.