Summary presentation of research findings looking at the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes career support workers need to assist clients presenting with mental health issues meet their employment goals.

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
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CERIC - funder
NSCDA - project sponsor
N.S. province-wide approach
Kathy McKee
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Manager Career Resource Centre
Career Practitioner
Board NSCDA
Chair Career Managers Network NS
Project management
Neasa Martin
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Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
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
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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?
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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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.
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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5. Findings cont.
CP & mental health clients agree:
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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:
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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:
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Policies limit CPs, service structures (mh clients referred on), funding models, time
constraints, creating service partnerships.
System issues:
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Limited mh services, narrow focus, disability funding model, siloed services.
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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6. Identified Training Needs
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Stigma & social inclusion
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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.
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Promoting mentally health workplaces.
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Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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7. Preferred Training Approaches
Make training accessible ($, access)
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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.
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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.
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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8. Changing
training, policies
& practices
Changing attitudes
• Personal contact
• Education
• Protest

9. Take away learning
Change required:
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Individual level.
Workplace practices.
Community level.
Whole-government approach
to social inclusion.
Next steps:
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Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
CERIC Grant for training.
Bell Foundation grant for MHF
focused on CPs.
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee

10. It started with What is wrong with people?
And then became –
What is wrong with us?
the
individual
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the
organization
the
community
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
the
society
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11.  What
the
individual
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
are my issues?
 How do I feel about these
clients?
 What have I been
taught?
 What are my values
about who “deserves” my
time?
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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12. 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
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Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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13.  Mental
the
community
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health stream @
conference.
 Discrimination.
 What are services called
and who provides them.
 Lack of knowledge of what
services exist.
 Competition for funding.
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14.  How
the
society
do policies handcuff
CPs from providing the
best services.
 Do we value differences.
 Do we allow discrimination
in the form of sub-par
services.
If change doesn’t occur with the individual it is difficult to
make organizational, community or societal change.
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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15. Discussion….
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What are your learning
needs? Preferred approach?
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Are there partnership
opportunities?
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Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
How do our findings align
with your experience?
Recommendations?
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16. http://chartingthecourse.nscda.
Cannexus Jan. 28th 2013
Charting the Course, Neasa Martin & Kathy McKee
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