Supported Employment for People with Mental Health Problems

Although it has been implicit in previous articles (see Becky's Story in issue 3.4), supported employment as a model for enabling people to get and keep jobs has not been given as much coverage as other ways of creating job opportunities. The development of the supported employment model in the UK is mainly associated with people with developmental or learning disabilities. However, experience in the United States has shown that, with appropriate modifications, the supported employment model ‐ particularly the ‘place and train’ version ‐ can achieve outstanding results for mental health service users who want a proper job. We will return to the research evidence in a later issue, but first Huw Davies from the Bury EST (Employment, Support and Training) and Jonathan Allen from Enable in Shrewsbury have joined forces to describe the way they work and the difference it has made to their clients' lives.