Young people with mental illness who require assistance with reconnecting to or staying in education will benefit from $40,000 in funding through g a James N Kirby Foundation grant.
The funding will support Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, in partnership with headspace Bondi Junction, to deliver an intervention to 200 young people who require assistance in reconnecting to, or staying in, education.
Professor Eoin Killackey, associate director of research at Orygen, said people with mental illness were three times as likely as the general population to not complete their secondary education. “This has a detrimental impact on their transition to employment, with higher rates of unemployment being consistently seen across this group,” he said.
The funding from the foundation will allow for an Individual Placement and Support Education (IPSed) worker to be employed at headspace Bondi, and for research to be undertaken into the educational outcomes of young people involved in the program delivered by the IPSed specialist.
Associate Professor Jackie Curtis, Clinical Director of Youth Mental Health (SESLHD) said that headspace Bondi Junction receives over one thousand referrals of young people aged 12-25 years every year who are experiencing mental health issues. “This project will create an enhanced focus on maintaining or reconnecting with education which will benefit the mental health and wellbeing of young people attending the centre helping them along in their recovery journey”.
Professor Killackey said the idea for IPSed came from previous research at Orygen which showed that Individual Placement and Support (IPS) was successful in helping young people with mental illness return to work.
“Through our previous research we found that IPS was very effective at assisting young people back to work and keeping them there. However, we know that not all young people are ready for or want to work, some want to get back to their education or training. With this in mind we adapted the IPS program to focus on these goals.” Orygen’s pilot studies of IPS adapted for education have shown similarly positive results.
Ms Helen Kirby, Director of the James N Kirby Foundation said that this project appealed to the Foundation based on the impact and successful outcomes of the previous program at Orygen. “This new IPSed program will provide crucial support, akin to early intervention principles, for 200 High School students with mental illness, enabling them to complete their education and we all know the long-term benefits of that.”
Professor Killackey said IPS programs supported young people with mental illness in making functional recoveries - getting back to school, work and life in general - and reaching their full potential.
“In the past it was believed that addressing the symptoms of mental health would lead to recovery in all areas of life,” Professor Killackey said.
“Yet this has not been the case - in some areas, such as physical health, results are actually getting worse rather than better. The focus on functional recovery is important in meeting the hopes of young people to live a full and meaningful life.”