EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS: A QUESTION OF PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT?

Abstract

The last several decades have brought about a paradigm shift in the conceptualization of disability (Fougeyrollas & Beauregard, 2001; Williams, 2001). The traditional medical model considers disability to be a characteristic of the person, situated within the body. In the medical model view, disability, or difficulty functioning in major life domains, results from bodily impairments associated with a medical diagnosis or disorder, and a medical intervention or treatment is required to “correct” the problem of the individual. Alternatively, contemporary social models argue that disability is a social construction. In the social model view, disability is created by social policies, stigma and other barriers within the social and physical environment. Changes in attitudes and policies and the removal of barriers are needed to “correct” these environmental problems.

Citation

Henry, A.D. (2004), "EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS: A QUESTION OF PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT?", Fisher, W.H. (Ed.) Research on Employment for Persons with Severe Mental Illness (Research in Community and Mental Health, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 15-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0192-0812(04)13001-8