On vocation and recovery for youth with mental health issues in Hong Kong

Abstract

Work plays an important role in the recovery of youth with mental health issues. Appropriate employment is effective to promote their psychological well-being and cognitive functions. In Hong Kong, supported employment services focus more on in increasing their employment and job retention. Vocational counselling service is needed for helping youth with mental health issues develop their career in line with their preferred identities. This study reports an ongoing project, which investigates the effectiveness of the narrative life design vocational counselling services for youth with psychosis. Till now, 25 participants (8 males and 17 females) with an average age 20.32 (SD=2.85) have received the vocational counselling services. The young participants have gone through a journey to explore their strength, preferred identities, life themes and the pathways of actions to achieve their life themes. Their sharing provides insights and experiential data to enhance the understanding of vocation and recovery for youth with mental health issues in Hong Kong.