ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Psychological problems are highly prevalent in unemployed people and can lead to impairments in several areas of life. Programs to support and assist those affected, especially the long-term unemployed, are scarce. Reservations by those affected present an additional barrier with respect to health care utilisation. The authors designed a collaborative care cooperation project between a local job center and a psychiatric clinic with the aims of counselling unemployed people with psychological distress as well as offering continuing psychosocial care if required. METHOD: This paper presents the methodological design, clinical procedure as well as a preliminary evaluation of the pilot phase. RESULTS: Within the first 12 months of the pilot phase, 57 long-term unemployed were enrolled in the project. Subjective psychological distress in the sample was comparable with other studies reporting high rates of psychological problems in the unemployed. The psychosocial intervention was well accepted not only by the unemployed but also by case managers and led to high re-assignment rates (n=37) to complementary services within the psychosocial health care system. CONCLUSION: Unemployment and psychological distress should be addressed together within collaborative care projects that can positively affect the negative interaction between unemployment and psychological distress. Low-intensity psychological interventions are well suited to address barriers that hinder health care utilization and to offer person-centered, psychological assistance.
