Chacku Mathai, CPRP Peggy Swarbrick, PhD, OTR, CPRP Oscar Jimenez, MHP New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS ) Workforce Development Institute (WDI) Syracuse University Burton Blatt Institute (BBI)

Chacku Mathai, CPRP New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services

 Believe that recovery is possible, even from the most tragic circumstances or disabling conditions  Uncover abandoned hopes and dreams  Discover our personhood through culture, strengths, values, skills  Engage communities as life sustaining forces  Re-author the way we see ourselves  Reclaim a meaningful life and roles

 Recovery is accomplished by the person  Systems, services and professionals can help or hinder the process of recovery  A developmental process  The recovery process started before systems, services or professionals were involved  Everyone gets the opportunity to be supported in his/her recovery process

 A state of preparedness for change  Can be influenced in many ways  Inclusive process that enhances a person’s willingness to engage and participate in recovery facilitating activities  Essential framework for identifying meaningful next steps in recovery planning

 Engage in the recovery process  Explore past and current experiences and environments  Consider future possibilities  Choose to stay or go from current environment and role  Create action steps that develop readiness

 Demonstrate interest and build trust in the relationship through partnering skills  Fresh, blank slate conversations that elicit a person’s sense of readiness for change in his/her life and more active participation in the process  Requires suspending any preconceived notions by practitioners or people receiving services about what is possible or best

 Provides each person receiving services a more personal and neutral opportunity to explore hopes, dreams, aspirations, reluctance and even lack of desire for change  Develops readiness as the person explores new questions and considerations  Provides the person, practitioner and program with a better sense of direction and possible next steps for engagement and recovery planning  Creates the context for a new kind of relationship

 NOT about labeling me as “ready” or “not ready” to work or improve my self-sufficiency  NOT about screening me out or excluding me from vocational services  NOT about my capacity to work or improve my economic self-sufficiency  NOT about determining the achievability or realism of my goals

 Need for Change  Commitment to the Change  Awareness  Relationship

Am I dissatisfied in any way with my level of employment or level of earnings? Am I experiencing any problems as a result of unemployment or low earnings? Am I fulfilling the requirements of my job? What might my supervisor or co-workers say? Am I saving any of my earnings, building assets or managing my financial growth and wellness?

How strongly do I feel about making a change to either become employed or improve my level of success and satisfaction with my employment and economic self-sufficiency? What are some of the positives or things I can see going well if I become employed or improve my economic self-sufficiency? What are the negative expectations that I have about this? Are there previous experiences with working or attempting self-sufficiency that these expectations are based on?

Can I imagine myself working or becoming more self-sufficient? What do I picture? Are there previous experiences with working or attempting self-sufficiency that build this picture? Do I believe that there are things I can do to make these changes occur in my life? Do I feel supported by anyone in making these kinds of changes in my life?

What are some of my values that inform how I make important decisions? What are my preferences or standards for my ideal working environment, roles and financial health? Can I identify and describe my past and present work environments and roles? Can I identify and describe any work environments and roles that I would like to pursue?

We all have preferences for how we are engaged by those who may be of “help” to us. Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Spiritual Practitioners need to actively involve people by using strong interpersonal skills such as orienting, asking questions, reflective listening and requesting feedback consistently and throughout the process of working with someone to pursue an employment and economic self-sufficiency goal.

 Involves the person and the practitioner developing a shared picture of the person’s overall readiness and developing a strategy to move ahead.  The process of reviewing these kinds of questions with another person or other peers is a readiness developing experience.

 Avoid becoming the enforcer of external “pushes” for change. Instead offer to be a support in dealing with the people, timelines and requirements that may be involved.  Increasing attention to the internal “tug” ◦ Explore satisfaction and dissatisfaction with current environment:  People  Place  Activities  Role(s)

 Create opportunities for people to express desires or “felt needs”  Affirm and reinforce any self-expression, complaints or desire for change as positive energy and motivation towards readiness  Arrange opportunities for people to meet and learn from peers who are working and saving  Visualization exercises as well as short term opportunities to build confidence with working or saving

 Explore Alternative Work Environments ◦ Identify Types ◦ Describe Characteristics ◦ Past, Present and Future  Explore Self Awareness ◦ Clarify and list personal values, e.g. honesty, trust ◦ Build on any expressed interests ◦ Write out preferences and methods of choosing

Use partnering skills and match connecting styles and needs:  Physical  Emotional  Intellectual  Spiritual

 Orienting  Listening  Reflecting or demonstrating understanding  Eliciting or requesting Information  Self-disclosing  Inspiring  Negotiating Agreement