Career development for those who experience persistent and severe mental illness

By Kristina Waldmann

Imagine. Just for a moment. You belong to a group of people whose unemployment rates average between 70 to 90%. For those who experience persistent and serious mental illness (SMI), such rates are a harrowing reality (Marwaha, & Johnson, 2004). Among individuals with disabilities, the Canadian Mental Health Association purports that those with SMI experience the highest degree of stigma in the workplace. This is one of the biggest barriers to acquiring gainful employment for people with SMI. There are, however, lesser-known barriers to employment, and one such barrier is created by the dearth of career development and vocation research that includes people with SMI.

Vocation and serious mental illness

Modern use of vocation commonly refers to the contribution of work to people’s meaning and purpose in life and their individual ability to make a valuable contribution to the greater good (Steger & Dik, 2010). Work plays an important role in the lives of many people. For some, work is one of, if not the most important source of meaning in their lives (Baum & Stewart, 1990; Klinger, 1977). Yet those who experience SMI are frequently left out of the conversation of career development and research.

Often the skills and value of those who suffer from SMI remain invisible or are largely ignored as focus is given to treating, managing and alleviating detrimental symptoms of SMI. This approach is practical in its focus and I do not intend to relegate its importance; rather, I would like to provide information, beyond the focus on symptomology, on what allows people with SMI to flourish and prosper in the workforce through dedicated quantitative research.

Given the right opportunities and the right support, research has demonstrated that people with SMI can and will lead meaningful careers. For example, one of the cornerstones of some community-based treatments is helping those with SMI find meaningful and sustainable work.

As a mental health worker in a community-based program some years ago, I witnessed the flourishing of individuals with SMI as they found purpose and meaning in work. For many, this meant paid employment; for others, volunteer work and/or education. Regardless, many were able to gain access to opportunities that helped them to re-integrate back into the community and lead more satisfying lives.

In approaching this research, I plan to utilize the Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI). This instrument measures an individual’s perception of their vocation as meaningful work (MW). Individuals who score low on this measure are more likely to be absent from work and experience both low levels of well-being and higher levels of psychological distress. Examining this in a research setting would help us to gain a better understanding of the importance and influence of WM in people with SMI and their well-being.

COVID-19 pandemic

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) recently reported that mental health concerns are on the rise as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. For those who experienced SMI prior to the pandemic, it has been reported that detrimental symptoms have increased significantly (Leger, 2021). Experts believe the effects of the pandemic will be long-lasting, particularly in the area of work (Stats Canada, 2021) and people with SMI have been hit hard by the pandemic, particularly when it comes to their employment (e.g. Mamelund, 2003; Leger, 2021). This is one reason why research on what allows people with SMI to flourish and prosper in their work is now more important than ever. By gaining a broader understanding of work and meaning, through use of measures such as WAMI, I believe we can begin to better support those experiencing SMI and invite them to wholly participate in a world that has largely left them out.

My good fortune is not that I’ve recovered from mental illness. I have not, nor will I ever. My good fortune lies in having found my life.” – Elyn R. Saks

Kristina Waldmann is currently a graduate student at the University of Calgary, pursuing a Master’s of Science in Counselling Psychology. Her interests include career and vocation research and counselling with a social justice lens focused on individuals who experience mental illness.

References

Baum, S. K., & Stewart Jr, R. B. (1990). Sources of meaning through the lifespan. Psychological Reports, 67(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1990.67.1.3

Canadian Mental Health Association (n.d.) Employment. Retrieved March 31, 2021. https://cmha.ca/mental-health/find-help/employment

Clubhouse International (n.d.). What Clubhouses Do. Retrieved March 29, 2021. https://clubhouse-intl.org/what-we-do/what-clubhouses-do/

Leger (2021). Mental Health and Substance Use During COVID-19. Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and the Mental Health Commission of Canada. https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2021-02/mhcc_ccsa_covid_leger_poll_eng.pdf

Klinger, E. (1977). Meaning and Void: Inner Experience and the Incentives in People’s Lives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Mamelund, S. E. (2003). Effects of the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19 on later life mortality of Norwegian cohorts born about 1900 (No. 2003, 29). Memorandum. http://hdl.handle.net/10419/63083

Marwaha, S., & Johnson, S. (2004). Schizophrenia and employment. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 39(5), 337-349. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-004-0762-4

Rice, K., Pernice, F., & Michon, A. (2020). Metacognition and the clubhouse model in treating severe mental illness. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 43(4), 284 – 289. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000464

Statistics Canada (2020). Economic Impacts and Recovery Related to the Pandemic. (No. pub/11-631-x/2020004 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/11-631-x/2020004/pdf/s5-eng.pdf?st=B3mHn3et

Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of career Assessment, 20(3), 322-337. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072711436160