Unemployment, disability and rehabilitation centres and their effects on mental health*

The findings clearly show that unemployed people at the beginning of an ERC course report low levels of mental health, particularly so for severely physically and psychologically disabled people, and also for older clients.

Abstract

This paper describes an investigation into the impact of unemployment, disability and also rehabilitation centres on mental health. A measure of mental health was administered to clients entering an Employment Rehabilitation Centre, and again on completion of their course. The findings clearly show that unemployed people at the beginning of an ERC course report low levels of mental health. This was particularly so for severely physically and psychologically disabled people, and also for older clients. The evidence also showed a significant improvement in mental health for all categories of individuals who completed the course; this was most marked for those who were severely physically disabled. Improvements in mental health were associated with rated performance and also with the length of time spent on the course.