How Employable are People with Serious Mental Illness?

Case Managers’ and Undergraduates’ Expectations

Kristen M. Abraham and Alexis C. Spencer

People with serious mental illness have higher unemployment rates than the general population, as only about one-third of adults with serious mental illness are competitively employed.  Studies demonstrate the impact that expectations have on individuals’ success in a number of life domains.  In terms of employment, studies suggest that people in general hold unfavorable views about the ability of adults with mental illness to work.  However, little is known about mental health professionals’ expectations regarding the employability of people with serious mental illness.  The poster presents a study of 107 case managers’ and 159 young adults’ employment-related expectations for adults with mental illness.  The psychometric properties of Expectations about Employment for People with Serious Mental Illness (EESMI), a new measure of employment expectations are presented.  Case managers’ and undergraduates’ reports of employability are compared.  The EESMI yields three dimensions of employment-related expectations. Evidence for reliability and construct validity is provided.  Case managers and undergraduates reported similar expectations regarding the demands of a worker role and the motivation of people with serious mental illness to work. Case managers reported higher expectations about the benefits of work for people with mental illness than did undergraduates.  Implications for community research and action are discussed. 

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Voices from a New Stage: Community Theatre and Mental Health

David A. Faigin, Hisham Abu Raiya, Erin E. Bonar, & Catherine H. Stein

Theatrical expression offers people living with mental illness opportunities to build social skills, take part in valued roles in the community, as well as create and perform original works focused on community education and stigma reduction.  Psychosocial rehabilitation “clubhouses” as well as community theatres work as facilitators of community-based theatre troupes involving people living with severe mental illness.  However, surprisingly little is known about what allows these grass-roots community theatre endeavors to develop and thrive. 

This qualitative study describes the experiences of participants and gatekeepers involved in creating community theatre with people living with mental illness. Interviews were conducted with actors, directors, and mental health professionals associated with The Fisher Players, a theatre troupe from Detroit, Michigan, and The Center Stage Players, a theatre troupe from Bowling Green, Ohio.  Themes from interviews reflect relationships, sustainability, personal gains, autonomy and ownership, and benefits of the medium of community theatre.  Implications of the study for community research and action are discussed. 

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Disaster Preparedness in the Campus Community: A Network Assessment Approach

Wendy R. Fogo, Christine E. McAuliffe, and Catherine H. Stein

Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the serious limitations of government agencies to respond to natural disasters and has placed disaster preparedness in the forefront of public consciousness in the United States.  However, efforts to strengthen local community crisis management systems often fail to consider university communities in disaster planning.  The poster presents a network approach to disaster planning for university communities. Results of a study of disaster response capacity at a university in the Midwest are presented to illustrate the application of network techniques.  The study consisted of a network assessment of three sectors of the university vital to disaster response: law enforcement, communication, and public health.  Key informants representing organizations within each of these sectors provided background information, responses to past campus disasters, and anticipated response to two disaster vignettes designed to reflect small and large scale disasters.  The structure of the campus network and connections between law enforcement, communication and public health units on campus and in the local community are described.  Lessons learned from the study and recommendations to other universities about strengthening disaster preparedness are discussed.   

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Expressed Emotion and Schizophrenia in India, China, and Japan: A Meta-Analysis

Shinakee Gumber, Aleisha Pfaff, and William O’Brien

Expressed Emotion (EE) is defined as a set of negative emotions expressed by family members toward their loved ones diagnosed with severe mental illness. To examine the cultural context of EE in relation to schizophrenia, we present results of a meta-analysis of EE studies conducted in India, China and Japan.  The meta-analysis includes studies published over the last 30 years that used samples of individuals from these Eastern cultures.  Definitions of EE and findings related to the role of EE in adults’ psychiatric symptoms, social functioning and/or relapse rates are summarized.  Implications of meta-analysis findings are discussed in terms of cultural context, construct efficacy, and the controversy over EE in the United States. 

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Thinking Small: Creating Settings That Matter for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

Catherine H. Stein, Kristen M. Abraham, David A. Faigin, Christine E. McAuliffe, Wendy R. Fogo, Hisham Abu Raiya, and Kyle H.K. Cabral

The concept of “small wins” was introduced to community psychology over two decades ago as a way to redefine large-scale social problems. A small wins philosophy focuses on creating controllable opportunities that produce concrete and visible results to motivate social change. In the proposed roundtable, we discuss the role of small wins in creating new opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities in the community. Three community action projects are briefly presented that promote valued social roles for adults coping with serious mental illness and their families. The Center Stage Players is a theatre troupe consisting of people with psychiatric disabilities that promotes community awareness and education about the experience of mental illness. The Men’s Empowerment Initiative is a collaborative project between a local psychosocial rehabilitation clubhouse and a high school designed to support the talents of men in industrial arts. Speaking from Experience is a community group comprised of adults coping with psychiatric disabilities and their supporters who give educational presentations to university and community audiences. Each of the projects demonstrates the personal expertise and experience of these adults and their ability to meaningfully contribute to their community. Our goal for the roundtable is to create a place for lively discussion about issues of collaboration, sustainability, and ownership in community action.

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