Promoting Activity and Participation in Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

Action Over Inertia is required reading for all mental health trainees and practitioners from any discipline, as well as peer specialists, who are committed to supporting people in pursuing meaningful, self-directed lives in the community. The evidence-based approach is built on solid conceptual frameworks and has been further refined in this second edition as a result of the extensive practice and research knowledge of an accomplished group of authors. Community inclusion and participation are increasingly being recognized as a medical necessity. Action Over Inertia provides a roadmap for making it happen that can be embedded in any mental health program or service. -Mark Salzer, PhD, professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Temple University and director of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities What people do in their everyday lives matters to their health and well-being! Action over Inertia starts with empirical evidence about the power of participation in daily activities and translates this into practical tools for mental health practitioners. It combines the art and science of supporting individuals with serious mental illness, and is an important addition to every therapist's toolbox for recovery-oriented practice. -Sandra Moll, PhD, OT Reg (Ont) and Rebecca Gewurtz, PhD, OT Reg (Ont), associate professors, McMaster University, Canada and members of the Do-Live-Well Framework development team (www.dolivewell.ca) Developed from the knowledge base of occupational science and occupational therapy, Action Over Inertia is a quantum leap for the development of practices focused on promoting activity and participation in the mental health field. It is an intervention that consistently combines client-centering and the systematisation of services. Both clients and service providers confirm this through high demand and the benefits they realize from the success of their own doing. -Andreas Pfeiffer, president, German Occupational Therapy Association With the first edition of this book, it became no longer acceptable to blame the inertia that may be associated with a serious mental illness on the person struggling with it, as the reader was led down a path that broke through what at times could be an impasse in treatment. With the addition of the capabilities framework as a foundation, culture as a context, and community inclusion as a primary goal, this second edition takes additional steps in laying out concrete practices which can support the person in identifying and pursuing engagement in the kinds of activities that give meaning and purpose to all of our lives. What results is an invaluable resource for promoting recovery-oriented practice. -Larry Davidson, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and director, Program for Recovery and Community Health, Yale University