'I have potential': Experiences of recovery in the individual placement and support intervention.

BACKGROUND: The individual placement and support (IPS) intervention supports persons with severe mental illness in achieving competitive employment. Although the IPS intervention is labelled a recovery-oriented intervention, little is known about how participants experience IPS to influence recovery. The aim was to investigate how IPS and employment influence recovery in persons with severe mental illness.

MATERIAL: A qualitative phenomenological hermeneutic study of experiences of 12 participants in IPS.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: IPS and competitive work have an impact on personal recovery, may influence work functioning and decrease depressive symptoms, but do not seem to have an impact on psychotic symptoms.