Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Nicole Harris

Second Advisor

Marilyn Klug

Abstract

The lived experience of community integration for those living with a serious mental illness (SMI) who are members of an unaccredited Clubhouse is an under investigated topic. The goal of this study is to better understand this phenomenon to inform the development of efficient and effective community integration programming for a local Clubhouse who is working toward becoming accredited. 15 active and inactive members of a local Clubhouse participated in a semi-structured interview to discuss their experiences of community integration while living with an SMI. The interviews were analyzed using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach (Dibley et al., 2020). Seven themes were identified: (1) Traumatic life events influence function; (2) community integration is desired by the majority despite social barriers; (3) employment is desired by majority despite barriers; (4) education is valued but is currently unachievable by most (5) disability benefits and housing experiences; (6) experiences of mental illness; and (7) clubhouse benefits reduce barriers to participation. Findings showed that people with an SMI have a desire to integrate within their communities but experience many barriers to successfully do so. Clubhouses can positively influence these barriers and shift the dynamic of community integration in a healthy way. Further research is needed to examine how co-occurring intellectual and learning disabilities impact community integration for this population. It will also be important to examine how Clubhouse programming can meet the needs of members who experience physical dysfunctions as well.

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