A 2-year follow-up study of people with severe mental illness involved in psychosocial rehabilitation

Backgrounds. A focus on psychiatric rehabilitation in order to support recovery among persons with severe mental illness (SMI) has been given great attention in research and mental health policy, but less impact on clinical practice. Despite the potential impact of psychiatric rehabilitation on health and wellbeing, there is a lack of research regarding the model called the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Approach from Boston University (BPR). Aim: The aim was to investigate the outcome of the BPR intervention regarding changes in life situation, use of healthcare services, quality of life, health, psychosocial functioning and empowerment. Methods: The study has a prospective longitudinal design and the setting was seven mental health services who worked with the BPR in the county of Halland in Sweden. In total, 71 clients completed the assessment at baseline and of these 49 completed the 2-year follow-up assessments. Results: The most significant finding was an improved psychosocial functioning at the follow-up assessment. Furthermore, 65% of the clients reported that they had mainly or almost completely achieved their self-formulated rehabilitation goals at the 2-year follow-up. There were significant differences with regard to health, empowerment, quality of life and psychosocial functioning for those who reported that they had mainly/completely had achieved their self-formulated rehabilitation goals compared to those who reported that they only had to a small extent or not at all reached their goals. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the BPR approach has impact on clients' health, empowerment, quality of life and in particular concerning psychosocial functioning

Clients’ experiences of the Boston Psychiatric Rehabilitation Approach: A qualitative study

The Boston Psychiatric Rehabilitation Approach (BPR) is person-centered and characterized by being based entirely on the individual's unique needs and preferences in the areas of working, learning, social contacts, and living environment. Nevertheless, the person-centered approach is lacking firm evidence regarding outcomes, and empirical studies regarding clients’ experiences of this particular model are needed. A qualitative content analysis of 10 transcribed semistructured individual interviews was used to describe and explore clients’ experiences of the BPR during an implementation project in Sweden. The findings from the interviews could be summarized in “A sense of being in communion with self and others” theme, consisting of three categories: increased self-understanding, getting new perspectives, and being in a trusting relationship. The results showed that clients do not always recognize nor are able to verbalize their goals before they have been given the possibility to reflect their thoughts in collaboration with a trusted person. The guidelines of the approach are intended to support the clients’ ability to participate in decision making regarding their own care. More research about efficacy of different rehabilitation approaches and exploration of fidelity to guidelines of rehabilitation programs are required

The Principal's role: a study of the formation of educational leadership

The role of principals in public education in Sweden has during the last decade been subjected to a number of reforms and structural changes that is without parallel in modern history. For example, the number of principals has doubled, the turnover is considerable and, while in the past being a principal has been an occupation for men, now women are in the majority. The limited Swedish research that has been carried out indicates that principals have multidimensional tasks that are often contradictory. In addition, principals find themselves in a situation where administration dominates at the cost of a more curriculum-based leadership. A majority of these research studies employ a macro-perspective that tends to marginalise the intentions of the actors and the impact of education as a socially-constructed sensemaking process. This thesis examines the role of the principal. The theoretical framework employed in this study derives from social psychology. Within this framework the role of the principal is perceived to be constructed in the intersection of the different domains of public education. This role is then related to the notion of a public ethos based on sets of democratic values. The empirical basis of the investigation is a case study of all principals and their superintendent (director of education) in a smaller Swedish municipality. Data was gathered in a number of interviews that extended over a school-year. The results, in short, suggest that the role of principals is being redefined and can in this process be interpreted with different emphases, that the different domains interpret the role of the principal from different rationalities and that goal-steering and related issues get treated more or less as symbolic rituals. These results are then discussed from the point of different discourses and sensemaking processes in education. It is concluded that the role of the principal is constructed in a discursive intersection. This discussion is then contrasted with a view where principals' emotional labour is highlighted and related to the primary processes of schooling and the societal functions of education

Ett engagerande mikrokosmos : folkhögskoledeltagarna och deras samhällsengagemang

Rapporten Ett engagerande mikrokosmos – folkhögskoledeltagarna och deras samhällsengagemang handlar om demokrati och samhällsengagemang. Här har folkbildningen en viktig roll att spela. I rapporten undersöker författarna hur folkhögskolan underlättar, uppmuntrar och initierar samhällsengagemang hos sina deltagare. Ersta Sköndal Bräcke högskola har sedan 1992 genomfört sju nationella befolkningsstudier om medborgerligt engagemang, varav den senaste ägde rum 2019. De resultat som presenteras i rapporten Ett engagerande mikrokosmos tar sin utgångspunkt i den nationella studien och en samtidigt genomförd undersökning bland deltagarna på långa kurser vid Sveriges folkhögskolor. Till detta genomförde forskarna en fördjupningsundersökning vid fyra folkhögskolor.