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The structure of work environments in psychiatric rehabilitation

Therapeutic alternatives to the industrial workshop

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nigel Mills
Nigel Mills*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB1 5EF
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There is now an extensive literature describing the value of work for people with a psychiatric disability (Shepherd, 1989; Bennett, 1970; Wing & Brown, 1970; Pilling, 1988). Apart from financial gain the benefits of work can include social contacts and support; social status and identity; ‘normal’ non-patient roles; a means of structuring and occupying one's time; a sense of personal achievement and mastery and a criterion of recovery from illness (Shepherd, 1984). However, for many people with a long-term psychiatric disability the range of opportunity for work is often very limited, usually consisting of subcontract packing or assembly work. The provision of this repetitive and simple work satisfies a basic occupational need. However to a large extent it neglects the fulfilment of broader psychological and social needs. People with a vulnerability to experience periods of major mental disorder usually have more than just an occupational need; they also need to be in an environment which can provide the conditions that will actively assist in the promotion of a state of positive mental health.

Type
Articles
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , February 1991 , pp. 69 - 72
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1991

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