Many people want to work, few get there

People with serious mental health problems, such as psychosis susceptibility or mood susceptibility, often do not get there by themselves, although the wish is there. In Europe, 85% of people with above-average psychosis susceptibility say they would like to work. But only 20% have paid work. The rest stay at home, often not by choice but because the system does not fit.

This is where IPS comes in. A simple but brilliant method to support people with mental health problems in finding and keeping regular work. Not in a sheltered workplace, but among other colleagues, in real jobs. And if work is still a step too far, supported education can be a good step in between: following education with tailored support. Taking part sometimes begins with learning something again.

Work or study through IPS

IPS works. We know that from more than 27 international studies. But in the Netherlands, where PsychosisNet comes from, it is still neglected. It is offered too little, it is organised in a fragmented way, and professionals often do not know how to refer people to it. How this is arranged differs from country to country.

What is most distressing: the people who need IPS the most, such as young people with a migration background and people with little education or a small network, often do not even know that it exists. And if they do know, the system is not always set up for them.

Research into this is now being done in Europe. Who gets IPS, and who does not? What plays a part in the choices of care providers? And how do people experience it themselves, especially if you are a little ‘different’, for example because your parents were born in another country? These are exactly the questions that should be asked in the Netherlands too, and in other countries. Recovery is not a matter of a pill or a protocol. Recovery is searching together for what works, what gives hope and what is meaningful.

IPS is not a miracle cure

IPS is not a miracle cure. It has to be well embedded in the care system. Local authorities and mental health care have to really work together, and that still happens far too little. Job coaches must be able to consult with the treatment team. People should not first have to get their whole life in order before they are allowed to take part: taking part should itself be a step in the recovery process. And perhaps most important: we have to ask people what they want themselves. And listen to the answer.

So what is needed?

• More awareness of IPS and supported education among care providers, clients and referrers
• Structural cooperation between local authorities and mental health care (not “you have to go to them”, but “we do this together”)
• Attention to inclusion: make sure that people with a language barrier, little trust in institutions or experiences of trauma can take part too
• Real co-creation with people who live through it themselves, so that what is offered works on paper and in real life

Ask what is meaningful for someone

If we really want to make a serious effort for recovery, we have to stop imposing on people what would be good for them, and start asking what is meaningful for them. Work and study are not a luxury here. They are often the core of recovery. And IPS is one of the few proven ways of bringing that core within reach. So let us make sure that this approach is available not only to a happy few, but to everyone who, despite everything, wants to take part again.

Prof. dr. Jim van Os, Chair Division Neuroscience, Utrecht University Medical Centre. Jim works at the interface of ‘hard’ brain science, health services research, art and subjective experiences of people with ‘lived experience’ in mental healthcare. 

Jim has been appearing on the Thomson-Reuter Web of Science list of ‘most influential scientific minds of our time’ since 2014. In 2014 he published his book ‘Beyond DSM-5‘, and in 2016 the book ‘Good Mental Health Care’. In 2026 he published 'Wat psychisch lijden is'.

Want to read more?

Blogs by Jim van Os can be read here

Did you know that PsychosisNet regularly posts new content?

Online tests 
Compare antidepressants tool
Compare antipsychotics tool
Podcasts
Books