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Occupational therapists are increasingly working in organisations outside of the public sector. UK government policy over the past decade has promoted health and social care provision by social enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to examine the compatibility of occupational therapy practice and a social enterprise environment, within the UK and questions if this approach may enhance experiences of social inclusion for people who use these services.

Case study methodology was used with eight social enterprises in the UK. Data were collected through: semi-structured interviews, formal organisational documents, and field visits and observations. Interviews were conducted with 26 participants who were occupational therapists, service users and social entrepreneurs/managers. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

Occupational therapists experienced job satisfaction, professional autonomy and were able to practise according to their professional philosophy. Service users valued support with: employment, routine, social relationships, and developing a sense of identity, particularly outside of a medical model definition. To a degree therefore, people using these services claimed socially inclusive benefits. Challenges with funding social enterprises, however, impacted occupational therapy delivery in some cases.

The majority of social enterprise research is drawn from case study methodology; however, this was the most appropriate research design to gain greatest insight into a small but developing phenomenon. Further research into occupational therapy practice within social enterprises is required, particularly on the effectiveness of returning to work and social inclusion.

Social enterprises can provide therapeutic environments to promote recovery and social inclusion which is also compatible with occupational therapy practice.

This is the first known national research into occupational therapy provision in social enterprises within the UK, which evidences a compatibility within occupational therapy practice within a social enterprise environment and the benefits of this.

Extant literature exploring service user (SU) involvement in clinical psychology training has been limited by its sampling from singular training programmes and its restricted application of psychological theory. This research seeks to counter limitations by exploring SUs’ experiences across multiple clinical psychology training programmes in the UK and by deductively applying psychological theory relating to power, recovery, identity and group development.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants. A deductive thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data.

Five main themes were identified: environment determines sense of safety; meeting challenges; sense of purpose, worth and value; the person you see now is not the person I was; and wanting to break the glass ceiling.

Carers are underrepresented and the sample does not contain SUs who were no longer involved in training.

It is important that the environment fosters psychological safety for SUs, via positive and supportive relationships with trainees and staff, with SUs being treated as equals and financially reimbursed as such. SUs and professionals need to explore managing and sharing power to enable SUs to feel valued and to reap benefits from involvement, including developing a positive sense of identity.

The research is part of the early literature exploring SUs’ experiences of involvement in clinical psychology training and is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to explore the personal effects of involvement across multiple programmes.