I've been busy...

"checkin' cheddar" as a good friend of mine always says. Working full time as a (brace yourself for the longest job title EVER) Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist runs the gamut from being insanely challenging to indescribably rewarding. I've been to my wits end, wondering how I will ever find the strength to continue chipping away at my clients and the issues they are struggling with. I have also been deeply moved by my clients and their resiliency; the fortitude of the human spirit and mind. A little background information, since I feel like I've gotten ahead of myself. I started working for a company in the social services sector (I'm trying to be discreet, for my privacy's sake) in March. Prior to March, I was working as a tutor for a private company. During this time, I was incredibly fearful that I would never find a full-time job in my field of Psychology with the job market being in such dire straights. I cannot say I did anything out of the ordinary in order to attain my job, though I have no doubt moving to Las Vegas increased the likelihood of finding work. The companies I interviewed for in Utah were overly saturated with recently graduated Psychology majors looking for jobs, making the expected hours and salary much lower than desirable. As for what I do specifically, I'll let the experts fill you in. Keep in mind that this is what I am expected to do, but like any job, the formal job description can never fully encapsulate what you do. Oh and by the way, we're called PSRs for short. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist just doesn't roll of the tongue very nicely.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation refers "to a range of social, educational, occupational, behavioral, and cognitive interventions for increasing the role performance of persons with serious and persistent mental illness and enhancing their recovery (3,4,5,6,7). Psychosocial rehabilitation includes services aimed at long-term recovery and maximization of self-sufficiency."

"Psychosocial rehabilitation in general and skills training in particular, for both consumers and family members, are intended to promote a range of outcomes (27). These interventions have demonstrated success in symptom reduction, community adjustment, relapse prevention, medication compliance, and reduced use of the hospital and other restrictive settings."

3. Anthony WA, Liberman RP: Principles and practice of psychiatric rehabilitation, in Handbook of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Edited by Liberman RP. New York, Macmillan, 1992
4. Baron RC: Psychosocial rehabilitation: an overview of principles, programs, and practices, in Best Practices in Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Columbia, Md, International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, 1996
5. Corrigan PW, Rao E, Lam C: Psychiatric rehabilitation, in Case Management Desk Reference. Edited by Chan F, Leahy ML. Lake Zurich, Ill, Vocational Consultants Press, 1999
6. Flexer RW, Solomon PL (eds): Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Practice. Boston, Andover Medical, 1993
7. Lamb HR: A century and a half of psychiatric rehabilitation in the US. Hospital and Community Psychiatry 45:1015-1020, 1994[Abstract/Free Full Text]
27. IAPSRS Research Committee: Toolkit for Measuring Psychosocial Outcomes. Columbia, Md, International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services, 1995