Strategies for Sustaining a Job in Patients with Severe Mental Illness: A Literature Review

Work is one of the key components in the life, as it brings financial benefits, social adjustment and affects health and well-being. Employment of people with mental illness not only is important as it is for general population, but also has a key role in their treatment. However, obtaining and maintaining a job for these people is considered as a challenge, and few of them can achieve their goals in this process. The aim of this paper was to review the resources to investigate job retention strategies in patients with severe mental illness. 25 relevant articles were selected and reviewed using key words employment, severe mental illness, sustain, tenure and coping strategy. Review of the articles showed that the strategies used by patients are divided into two categories: mental and practical strategies. Each of these focused on person (person –based strategy) or job (job –based strategy). The reviews highlighted that the most effective and practical strategy is “illness management” that is suggested to be added to the vocational rehabilitation programs.