Supported Education in a Swedish Context – Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Career-Oriented Support for Young Adults with Mental Health Problems

Veronica Lövgren,Helene Hillborg,Ulrika Bejerholm,David Rosenberg

doi:10.16993/sjdr.648

Veronica Lövgren, Helene Hillborg + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.648

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Abstract

Young adults experiencing mental health problems often need both individual support and educational accommodations to successfully complete their studies. Recent research also points to the need for career-related, educational services in a labor market that increasingly demands formal education or training. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of supported education services in Sweden, in relation to pursuing educational and vocational goals. Interviews were conducted with a broad sample of stakeholders who are currently developing supported education services, as well as young adults utilizing educational support. The results suggest a number of key factors for accommodating the needs of these students which include, in addition to basic academic, mental health and individual supports, attention to economic challenges, social contexts and improved mental health literacy for educational actors. The results additionally substantiate the relevance of educational supports to long-term vocational goals when providing employment support services.

Highlights

Young adults experiencing mental health problems as well as a lack of opportunities to participate in community life as students and employees are more likely to end up in long-term marginalized situations and to require continuing support as adults (Bostedt, Hillborg & Rosenberg 2012; Liljeholm & Bejerholm 2019; Patel et al 2007)
This study included five sites that provided educational support, and those sites were categorized as follows: two included Supported Education (SEd) as an outgrowth of established Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services (IPS/SEd); one Fountain house-based model (FH), a memberdriven organization providing psychosocial support; and two free-standing, SEd services which initially focused on young adults with Neuropsychiatric disorders but were serving many with a variety of mental health problems (SEd)
In working with young adults, the notion of career is suggested as a unifying focus for developing models and services that integrate educational and employment supports

Summary

Introduction

Young adults experiencing mental health problems as well as a lack of opportunities to participate in community life as students and employees are more likely to end up in long-term marginalized situations and to require continuing support as adults (Bostedt, Hillborg & Rosenberg 2012; Liljeholm & Bejerholm 2019; Patel et al 2007). While support consisting of a variety of individual and systematic resources is essential for improving academic outcomes among students with mental health problems (Soydan 2010), many post-secondary institutions do not offer services readily available to these students (Knis-Matthews et al 2007). Supported models (education and employment) with roots in psychiatric rehabilitation and a knowledge-based vision of recovery build on the relational perspective by working directly to provide support in natural community environments. They may at the same time, contribute to knowledge regarding the types of environmental adaptation that can prevent impairments from resulting in disability

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