General support versus individual work support: a qualitative study of social workers and therapists in collaboration meetings within individual placement and support

Abstract

This study aims to increase understanding of how social workers and therapists contribute to cooperation meetings within the individual placement and support intervention. The individual placement and support model of supported employment is expanding worldwide. Although several quantitative studies have shown this model`s effect, the need for qualitative studies on collaboration within this intervention is evident. The individual placement and support fidelity manual presents clear expectations to the social workers and therapist in the cooperation. Still, few previous studies investigate how these expectations are met in praxis. This study draws on sixteen collaboration meetings, recorded, transcribed, and analysed using reflexive thematic analyses. It shows that the social workers and therapists did, to a limited extent, adapting their support to the expectations of personalised work support inherent in the individual placement and support intervention. They underestimated their importance in collaboration meetings, and this limited the dialogue. Further qualitative studies are needed to understand how social workers and therapists experience their contribution to individual placement and support and their reasons underestimating their importance. Still, we suggest that more individualised work support from the social workers and therapists could help people who choose individual placement and support to succeed in work life.