Treatment - Rehab | Sanctuary Psychiatric Centers of Santa Barbara

VOCATIONAL/EDUCATIONAL COUNSELING

Sanctuary Psychiatric Centers of Santa Barbara strongly believes community integration and self sufficiency is an excellent way to empower our client’s to gain a sense of control, consistency and purpose in their lives. The overall focus of Vocational and Educational Services is to empower clients and provide them with the knowledge and resources to achieve the highest level of vocational functioning possible.

As active participants of Vocational Services, our clients receive comprehensive and personalized services in both individual and group settings.

Vocational and Educational Rehabilitation Program Goals:

To provide clients with the vocational and/or educational tools necessary to become empowered, self sufficient, and proactive in setting and obtaining goals for their future.
Educate clients about the variety of educational and employment related resources available to them within the community and provide them with the tools needed to access those supports.
Identify clients’ main challenges to obtaining or maintaining employment and create and implement a plan for accommodations or coping strategies to reduce or eliminate those challenges.
Provide assistance and guidance by helping clients apply for state and federal entitlements.
Reduce stigma and negative perceptions of persons with mental illness within the community by integrating clients in a variety of educational and work related settings to demonstrate their individual strengths, talents, and abilities.

Our individual service provides clients with the following:

Clarification of interests, skills, abilities, values and limitations in a community, educational and work related setting.
Assistance with formulating short and long term Vocational and Educational goals and identifying and implementing the steps needed to achieve those goals.
Explore the limitations that result from symptoms of mental illness and identify strategies and coping skills to accommodate those limitations in a work and/or school setting.
Assistance with identifying and accessing independent living supports and resources including: public transportation, Social Security benefits, Medicare and Medi-cal benefits, etc. depending on the client’s needs.
Continued support and assistance around maintaining community activity in order to prevent regression into past unhealthy patterns of isolation and withdrawal.

The Vocational Group curriculum is designed to further assist clients with exploring skills, interests, values, limitations and realistic career goals while providing clients with the support, input and feedback in a group setting. Vocational topics are offered on a weekly rotating basis with an emphasis on practical, experiential learning.

The Group activities include:

Career exploration
Resume writing
Job seeking skills
Interviewing skills
Job placement
Job retention
Symptom management in the workplace

State and Federal Entitlements/Benefits

SPCSB understands the importance of financial resources and access to medical care for our clients on their path to independence, especially when they may not be ready for paid employment. We also understand the frustration and confusion that people can experience while applying for entitlements.

Entitlements provide clients with the opportunity to access the monies and medical resources needed to increase their financial independence, self reliance and have medical care. Entitlements also serve as an ongoing “safety net” for clients that can be carried into the future to ensure a baseline of financial, medical and housing security.

SPCSB’s Vocational Services is happy to offer assistance and guidance to clients by helping them apply for the following state and federal entitlements:

Social Security Disability Insurance
Supplemental Security Income
Medi-cal Medical Benefits
Medicare Medical Benefits
Food Stamps

When assisting clients with applying, Vocational Staff educate the client about each entitlement program for which they are eligible. Vocational Staff then assists the client with completing and submitting the appropriate application materials, completing and submitting the required medical documentation and also resolving and clarifying any issues that surface throughout the process.

Once benefits are secured, Vocational Staff also educate the client about Social Security's "Work Incentives" so that clients can return to work with a clear understanding of how it will impact their benefits.