Mental illness affects around 27% (83m.) of Europeans annually (European Social Work, 2013). Three quarters of mental illness begins by age 24 (WHO), affecting the social inclusion and, due to stigma, the work integration of a big number of young citizens in the EU. While many EU projects have focused in facilitating work integration of European NEETs (young people Not in Employment, Education or Training), little attention has been paid to young people with Mental Health problems that are not in Employment, Education or Training ('MH NEETs'), and in the same time they have to face a lot of extra challenges on their way to education and the labour market. Mental illness is likely to be both a risk factor for becoming NEET as well as a consequence of NEET status. Youth with prior mental illness are likely to terminate school early. Mental disorders are also likely to impede the transition into the labour force due to employment restrictions and social stigma. It seems that, at the moment, there are not any specialized tools facilitating the work integration of MH NEETs. Furthermore, all the main actors involved in this procedure (MH NEETs themselves, mental health professionals, career counsellors and informal carers) are not sufficiently educated, in order to provide the support needed. The big number of MH NEETs remaining outside the labour market constitutes an urgent call for the development of efficient strategies, as well as, the appropriate educative solutions and methodology to integrate MH NEETs in the labour market. Work4Psy has as a main objective to enhance the work and education integration of MH NEETs through the creation of specialized career counselling methodology and the education of the four main target groups involved in this procedure: (a) MH NEETs themselves, (b) Mental Health Professionals, (c) Career Counsellors, (d) Informal Carers (such as family members). In order to achieve that, all the partners will be involved in activities such as a comprehensive literature review, an educational needs assessment, focus groups implementation, creation/translation/adaptation of learning content, career counselling tools and other resources/material, in order to create: 1) The first European Career Counselling MH NEETs Toolkit (ECCpsy-KIT) The toolkit will provide Mental Health Professionals, Career Counsellors, MH NEETs and their Informal Carers, local agencies and authorities and all other interested parties, with the necessary knowledge and Interactive Career Counselling tools, in order to enhance MH NEETs work and education integration. The tools will be practical, easy to use and oriented to each target of the project. The ECC psy-KIT will guide all interested parties through the work and education process of MH NEETs from the first stage of self-assessment to the final stage of on-going monitoring, aiming to achieve a higher number of MH NEETs in the labour market and education. 2) The European Work and Education Integration Curriculum for MH NEETs The Curriculum provides the didactical framework of the Toolkit, including details in terms of each unit’s objectives and learning outcomes, the content to be covered, the unit’s structure, teaching and learning methods, didactic methods, the approximate workload, tips and advice on the use of activities of the Toolkit, how to apply resources (e.g. video clips, interactive career counselling tools), etc. 3) An Open Learning Platform The platform, based on the didactical framework of the Curriculum, including all the information and interactive career counselling tools of the Toolkit, as well as a variety of extra resources and material aims to become a digital environment where MH NEETs, Mental Health Professionals, Career Counsellors, Informal Carers and everyone interested will be able to find every information, material and resources needed regarding work and education integration of MH NEETs. All outcomes will be produced using the Co-production model, which involves MH NEETs and their family members in every step of the procedure (through participation in transnational meetings, focus groups, educational needs mapping and design of all outputs), as they are considered experts by experience, having important knowledge of their needs. Multiplier events, as well as, a strong dissemination plan will lead to a wide diffusion of all project’s results all over Europe. The European work and Education Integration curriculum and the Open Learning Platform will also guarantee the sustainability of the project, themselves, as they ensure that members of the target groups and every other interested parties who will not have been part of the project’s core partnership are able to use the Toolkit and all the material produced beyond the project’s eligibility period (e.g. transfer to further countries, organisations or new staff members within a partner’s institution).
In response to the identified needs our objectives were to map the need and deficiencies in integration, education and the labour market of MH NEETs and to review existing methodologies for career support for this target group. In order to empower MH NEETs to develop and make their own decisions and to ensure and enhance the ability of informal carers, MH professionals and career counsellors to motivate, inform and support MH NEETs effectively and efficiently, we set out to develop a specialized methodology and tools for career support that will answer the specific needs of young people with mental health problems. Our objective was to develop tailored and accessible informational and educational resources, which were to address the specific needs of each of the four target groups mentioned. These were to include a Toolkit with key information, guidelines and activities, a curriculum for each of the four groups, and resources and activities all to made available online on a web portal and an open learning platform.
Young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) face great challenges entering the labour market. If these NEETs, as often is the case, also have mental health conditions (MH NEETs), the difficulties are even greater. Our project was designed to tackle these difficulties as a challenge posed not just to individual NEETs but to the working alliance made up of MH NEETs, their parents or other informal carers, mental health (MH) professionals and career counsellors. We respond to the knowledge gaps and lack of informational and educational resources, targeted skills and abilities for MH NEETs to develop career skills and the other groups to effectively and efficiently support them in their vocational orientation and career development. Just as MH NEETs themselves, their informal carers often have little to no knowledge about sources of support for their charge and for themselves and also are left without resources to offer guidance when it comes to career orientation and decisions. MH professionals often are not well equipped when it comes to questions of labour market access, while career counsellors are not normally adjusted to deal with specific issues arising from their clients having a mental health condition.