JOB SEEKING SKILL GROUPS

Deinstitutionalization of psychiatric patients to community living arrangements has increased the demand for psychiatric rehabilitation services. Although job seeking skill groups have reported success with varied rehabilitation populations, to date little research has attempted to adapt these methods to a group of chronic psychiatric patients. Forty-four patient entered a ten week job seeking skills group designed to increase their effectiveness in job interviews. At follow-up, over one-third were productively employed and over half of the subjects reported satisfaction with their community adjustment. The results suggest that although employment is a viable goal, it is not the only factor which determines successful community adjustment.