Vocational Rehabilitation Considerations for Mental Health Impairments in the Workplace

Abstract

Vocational rehabilitation professionals work with persons experiencing medical, emotional, and cognitive disabilities, when the disability precludes their ability to work. Mental health disabilities create unique challenges to accomplishing a successful return to work. Mental health conditions lack specific descriptive information about how they affect function or work capacity utilizing standardized worker traits such as those found in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles or the new Occupational Information Network. This absence of descriptive information inhibits the vocational rehabilitation professionals’ ability to evaluate current and/or alternate work opportunities accurately and plan a re-employment program properly. It results in delays in the initiation of service, the use of other costly services to gather the worker trait information and confusion when communicating/coordination with the treating mental health professional. These barriers result in increased cost, delays in re-employment, and lost opportunities for individuals with work disabling mental health conditions.