About the Course

Integration into the workforce is an important component of the path to maturity, independence, and identity development. Work is a source of social connections and self-esteem; it is a place where people spend a significant portion of their day; and it fosters engagement, activity, participation, and a sense of belonging.

The course will cover key topics from the evolving and dynamic world of work and will focus on helping participants integrate into the workforce. The course will train participants to implement the innovative intervention for work skills: “Cognitive Skills for Work” (CSW[1]), which shines a spotlight on the cognitive/functional domain.

Key Course Content: Concepts related to the world of work in general and employment in the open labor market in particular, such as: characteristics of the world of work and occupational analysis.  Guidelines for supporting participants in the career development process, including: , building a personal career vision, and developing employability skills. In the second half of the course, you will study the “Cognitive Skills for Work” intervention in depth.

The goals of the intervention are to clarify the connection between cognitive functioning and work, and to help the individual develop effective strategies for improving their cognitive skills or mitigating the effects of cognitive impairments, in order to enable them to choose, achieve, and maintain their employment goals.

Course Objectives

Introduction to concepts such as: recovery, integration, work, cognition, and career development in the context of integrating people with mental health challenges into the workforce. Students will acquire a variety of tools and become familiar with cognitive and functional supports that help improve their ability to assist people with mental health challenges in their integration into the workplace.

Participants will be trained as facilitators to implement the “Cognitive Skills for Work” (CSW[2]) intervention.

The intervention training will include: background on the development of the model, the various components of the intervention, strategies and skills for delivering the intervention and implementing it in the field, along with an introduction to knowledge regarding cognition and work, identifying a person’s strengths, challenging negative thought patterns, coping with attention and concentration difficulties, coping with memory difficulties, developing routines at home and during the job search process, strengthening planning and problem-solving skills, and improving thinking speed. 

Course Structure

 The course consists of 18 sessions, which will include learning, training on the intervention, and group coaching to support, implement, and integrate the intervention in practice while it is being introduced and implemented in various settings.

The course includes practical application of the intervention by the students: facilitating a weekly CSW group at the rehabilitation service where the students work. 

The course will be held online via “ZOOM”

Participants

The course is designed for 30 participants, consisting of 2 instructors from an organization / an instructor and a professional / a professional with experience in group facilitation, who work in the Ministry of Health’s sheltered employment and supported employment services,  and/or for employees who lead employment promotion projects and individual initiatives for this population in the open labor market.

Course Requirements

• Mandatory attendance in 90% of classes.
• Submit regular reports tracking how the intervention is being implemented.
• Each participant is required to complete the assignments assigned by the course coordinator.
• The “Cognitive Skills for Work” intervention is based on a workbook and a facilitator’s guide, both of which are required for every participant in the intervention group; therefore, the organization must commit to providing the workbooks to the group participants. (The materials will be provided by the school.)
• A student who does not fulfill the course requirements will not be able to enroll in another course at the School of Rehabilitation until he or she has fulfilled those requirements.

Admission Requirements

• Actively works in the field of occupational rehabilitation in mental health.
• Register for the course together with another participant—from the same institution or another organization—in order to co-facilitate the group; at least one of you must be a professional.
• A commitment to provide group training during the course at the participant’s place of employment.
• Commitment to offer another group discount in the year following the completion of the course
• The number of participants in the course is limited, so register soon.

[1]The intervention was developed by Prof. Susan McGurk and Prof. Kim Meuser of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University and was translated and adapted for Israel by the “Shkolu Tov” group and the School of Rehabilitation.