The improvement of the counselors’ competences for the professional integration of people with mental disorders

Purpose This study takes part of a large research project: Public Health - Mental Health (PHMH) -Employability in Europe. This project offered to people with mental disorders to facilitate finding and maintain a job, with the help of the employment counseling specialists. Aim The aim of the study is to improve the intervention practices in the professional insertion, by formig new professional competences and by improving the already existing ones for the counseling specialists in the employment of people with mental disorders, in Europe, depending on the specific regional needs analysis [1-5]. Methods The project is conducted by a multidisciplinary international team. PHMH - Employability in Europe, includes the following countries: Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, France and Romania. The project team members have applied in each of the five participating countries the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, (SWOT) analysis for each of the three pillars of study. The three parts are: the beneficiary, the specialist and the employer. Results The SWOT analysis shows us the strengths / weaknesses and opportunities / needs regarding the employment of the people with chronic mental disorders, acquired during life. Based on the SWOT results, we have established the fields of competences required for the employment counseling specialists, depending on the specific regional needs [2]. Conclusion Employment counseling specialists require specific competencies to help people with chronic mental disorders obtain and keeping a job. These competences must be improved according to the regional needs specific to the participating countries. This way, the psychic handicap will be reduced [6, 7].