8/28/2008

Career Identification & Development

Identification of Interests and Aptitudes

Developing a healthy work tolerance

Work Hardening

Job Placement and Coaching

Career Planning that can include skills training

SLS’s residential programs offer extensive vocational & career development services:

Vocational assessment to determine strengths and interests
Resume preparation and interview training
Work adjustment groups that focus on meaning, value and demands of work
Job coaching
Job placement
Community based skills training**

Our vocational staff believes one of the most desirable outcomes in the treatment process is the ability to achieve gainful employment.

From preparing a resume to practicing for a job interview, careful consideration is given to developing a systematic approach to returning to gainful employment. For those seeking employment for the first time, the assessment process is helpful in identifying job activities that may be commensurate with individual strengths.

At SLS our vocational staff reinforces the concept that keeping a job means having the energy to maintain a consistent level of productivity while being able to relate to others.

Job placement is a challenge and employment opportunities are continuously developed by our job developer who maintains relations with a variety of human resource personnel. In some cases, non-paid job internships are developed for those people who wish to explore a particular type of work activity. SLS also has job coaching for those who need additional on-the-job supports.

Securing employment is not as difficult as maintaining it, especially if one has been out of the work force due to poorly controlled symptoms. Our vocational staff is sensitive to the fact that returning to work is potentially destabilizing and it is therefore a function of the treating therapist to determine when employment activities may begin.

As Sigmund Freud said….”human work more than any activity has the potential for binding one closer to reality.”

“Having a job is about more than just a paycheck. It builds self-esteem and functions as a social passport.”
Alfred Bergman
Co-Founder of SLS Health