Group work

Implementation of the „Group Work” project aims at improving the social and professional functioning of 100 persons with mental disorders and intellectual disabilities.

The project activities are carried out in 3 areas:

• Social support for persons with mental disorders and intellectual disabilities, forms of support: Diagnostic consultations, therapeutic community, group psychotherapy, groups of social skills, psychosocial skills training, psychosocial therapy, individual psychological and legal consultations, Intervention-Training Group, activating psychological classes, artetherapy.

The social support is mainly focused on correcting deficits related to mental disorders and supporting the treatment process. Participants take part in both individual and group activities. The support is of strictly specialist (e.g. psychological counselling, skills training) as well as pro-active (psychological classes, artetherapeutic classes, socializing) nature. A significant area of support is the ability to use the support of the intervening entity (as part of the intervention-training group) and 24-hour psychological duties. Participants have the opportunity to obtain support on a constant basis, depending on their needs. They can also report their problems at any time (this aspect is essential due to the character of the target group). The conceptual team regularly takes part in meetings and supervisions. This support block also includes classes of the „Transformations” series aimed at social integration, increasing self-confidence of the participants, as well as physical transformations in order to increase their attractiveness in the labour market (e.g. working with a make-up artist).

• Career support for persons with mental disorders and intellectual disabilities, forms of support: Diagnostic consultations, career counselling, work training, work animation, vocational upskilling courses and workshops.

Participants are offered comprehensive career support. Following a diagnosis made by the career adviser, they take part in career consultations and work training sessions (carried out in the environment, i.e. job search training, recruitment participation training, and also as part of project activities, e.g. computer training, culinary training, Occupational Skills Training). Additionally, the work animator does his job consisting in getting employers on board and searching for job offers adequate to the participants’ expectations and abilities. The animator is a liaison between employers and the labour market and the participants. Following the occupational diagnosis, some participants can take a vocational course adequate to their needs and career profile in order to enhance their attractiveness in the labour market.

• Support for participants’ families, forms of support: Support groups for family members, social animation, psychological consultations.

Families and other significant persons use the Team’s support and psychological consultations. These impacts aim at helping these persons in the process of supporting participants in social and occupational activation. The participants, their families and the closest social environment take part in various meetings and festivities (e.g. start of summer, family picnics), as well as celebrations (such as Easter breakfast or Christmas Eve gathering), and also in events aimed at promoting project impacts and raising social awareness of mental disorders and risk of being socially excluded. The impacts of the project are aimed at social and professional activation, whose ultimate effect for the project participants will be finding a job. Due to the specific needs of the target group, a large part of activities is carried out at the social level and aimed at improving the participants’ health and well-being and their social activation. These activities constitute the basis for further support for and career development of participants.

The last stage of the project will be an event, Forum of the Project Participants, which will provide an opportunity to sum up the project activities and the changes and history of support for individual participants. This event will also be an opportunity to promote benefits of this type of support and increased social awareness of the needs of persons with mental disorders, in particular the needs for social and occupational activity.