Making Sense of Employment Research

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present “Making Sense of Employment Research”, a webinar series designed to discuss a recent published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research.

Presentation: "The Career Opportunity Readiness Experience (CORE)" with guest speakers Vanessa Vorhies Klodnick, PhD, LCSW and Rebecca P. Johnson, MA, LCPC

The transition to adulthood can present significant challenges for young people with serious mental health conditions. These young people may experience disruptions in educational, social, and vocational development and often have limited opportunities to build early work experience, workplace skills, and confidence before leaving high school. The Career Opportunity Readiness Experience (CORE) was developed by a community mental health provider to combine career-readiness learning, individualized support, and paid internship experiences to help young people strengthen entry-level job skills, workplace cultural knowledge, emotional self-regulation, self-efficacy, and confidence in their ability to succeed at work. This webinar will introduce the CORE model, its development and implementation, and findings related to its feasibility and impact.

Vanessa Vorhies Klodnick, PhD, LCSW is a Research Associate Professor in the UT-Austin School of Social Work, Texas Institute for Excellent in Mental Health.

Rebecca P. Johnson, MA, LCPC is a Senior Project Coordinator at the UT-Austin School of Social Work, Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present "Making Sense of Employment Research", a webinar series designed to discuss a recent published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research.

This Session: Supporting the Young Adult Peer Support Workforce: Insights from a Survey Study

Young adult peer support workers (YPSWs) – trained professionals typically aged 18-30 with lived experience of behavioral health conditions – are an essential and growing part of the behavioral health workforce. However, research on their workplace experiences remains limited, with existing studies largely relying on qualitative methods and small samples drawn from a narrow range of service settings. This webinar will present findings from a survey study examining the workplace experiences of YPSWs across the United States. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, we will explore key domains including job satisfaction, supervision, intergenerational workplace climate, and experiences of stigma. We will also highlight important differences by certification status, including disparities in perceived opportunities, rewards, and supervision.

Elizabeth Thomas, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Temple University’s Barnett College of Public Health. She serves as co-Director of the UMass Chan-Temple Community Inclusion and Reflective Collaboration (CIRC) Center and an investigator within the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion.

Haley Payne is a graduate student in the clinical psychology department at the School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Presently, she serves as a practicum student at Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital servicing individuals with serious mental health conditions.

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present “Making Sense of Employment Research”, a webinar series designed to discuss a recent published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research.

Presentation: "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Individual Placement and Support Services for Young Adults" with Dr. Ana Carolina Florence

Individual placement and support (IPS) is an evidence-based model designed to help individuals with mental health conditions secure and maintain competitive employment. Young adults are a particularly vulnerable group in need of these services. The COVID-19 pandemic led many public institutions to curtail face-to-contacts, which affected IPS service delivery. This webinar describes a qualitative descriptive analysis of interviews with IPS team leaders across five states. Two major themes were created from 29 interviews with 30 participants: adaptations and challenges. Adaptations centered on transitioning to virtual communication and remote IPS delivery. Challenges included reduced referral rates and difficulties in building rapport and maintaining engagement. Despite these challenges, the need for adaptation spurred innovation, fostering positive changes, some of which may become permanent in the future, showcasing the resilience and creativity of IPS programs.

Dr. Ana Carolina Florence is a mental health services researcher specializing in implementing and evaluating the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model. Her work examines how evidence-based supported employment can improve competitive integrated work outcomes and overall well-being for diverse populations.

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present “Making Sense of Employment Research”, a webinar series designed to discuss a recent published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research.Presentation: “Key Stakeholder Perspectives on the Use of Research About Supported Employment for a Variety of Patients with Mental Illness”This webinar discusses stakeholder responses to evidence on supported employment, emphasizing the importance of tailoring programs to individual needs which are often overlooked in current initia- tives. Qualitative data were collected from three stakeholder groups — people with lived experience of mental health challenges, community health advocates, and state health policy makers. Results highlight the necessity of gathering diverse research input to enhance the effectiveness of sup- ported employment programs and underscores the need for collaboration and knowledge transfer among stakeholders to maximize mental health and employment resources.Dr. Margarita Alegría, PhD, is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachu- setts General Hospital and the Mongan Insti- tute, the Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She has spent her career examining how to reduce health disparities for minoritized populations, immigrants, and linguistic minorities.This event is supported by funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant 90RTEM0004). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this project do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

"’Once a Peer Always a Peer’: A Qualitative Study of Peer Specialist Experiences With Employment Following State Certification.” with Elizabeth Siantz, PhD.

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is

During this Webinar, Dr. Elliott will present qualitative findings from interviews she conducted with working professionals who self-identified as having mental illness. The results will be drawn primarily from this publication, co-authored with Jordan Reuter.

The world was a different place when IPS was introduced more than three decades ago. Yet despite changes in the economy, employment opportunities, hiring practices, evolution of the Internet and the ubiquity of mobile devices, and our experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, IPS has continued to be the gold standard. Today’s webinar will explore two papers based upon data collected through New York State’s extensive IPS initiative which focus on successful IPS implementation in the 2020’s. Two questions addressed are whether digital platforms (e.g., employers’ websites and online application processes) have diminished the importance of IPS employment specialists’ time spent in the community, and what has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IPS implementation and outcomes?

This webinar draws on findings from a project in which vocational staff of a peer-run program were trained to deliver IPS along with work-focused health and wellness supports. Recipients of peer-delivered IPS plus health promotion achieved higher rates of competitive employment compared to those receiving peer-delivered generic supported employment services. The peer IPS team also achieved high fidelity to the IPS model's principles and practices. Discover the benefits of integrating peer support into the delivery of evidence based IPS, and what research reveals tells us about how this can be done.
Dr. Cook is an internationally recognized authority on mental health services research, specifically the study of clinical and rehabilitation outcomes of children and adults receiving community-based care. She directs a federally funded research center along with numerous grants and contracts focused on intervention science, psychiatric epidemiology, and outcomes research. She designs and implements innovative programs to enhance the health and behavioral health of vulnerable populations. She works with federal, state and local authorities on behavioral health service system redesign and alternative financing strategies. Her recent work focuses on randomized controlled trials of evidence-based practice treatments for serious mental illness, and outcomes of individuals with co-occurring mental illness and chronic medical conditions. She consults with federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, Government Accountability Office, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Veteran’s Administration.  
This event is supported by funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant 90RTEM0004). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Ever wonder what researchers are finding out about employment for people with mental illnesses/mental health conditions? The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present “Making Sense of Employment Research”, a webinar series designed to discuss a recent published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research.
Matthew J. Smith's presentation will focus on his program of research that develops and evaluates virtual reality job interview training as an enhancement to existing employment services, in particular, the individual placement and support model of supported employment.
Matthew J. Smith, PhD, is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Smith is the director of the NIH-Funded Level Up: Employment Skills Simulation Lab. The mission of his lab is to develop and evaluate technology-based interventions to help obtain and sustain employment for people from marginalized and underserved communities.
This event is supported by funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant 90RTEM0004). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this project do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.