Volume 30, Issue 3 (5-2023)                   RJMS 2023, 30(3): 254-266 | Back to browse issues page

Research code: 1208761
Ethics code: 1208761
Clinical trials code: 1208761

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PhD, Department of Counselling, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran , roz_zeinabrostami@yahoo.com
Abstract:   (887 Views)

Background & Aims: Considering the lack of research in finding an effective approach in the field of bipolar disorder management and the career success of people with this disorder, the present study aims to compare the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation programs with career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach on the career success of them, and the following questions were answered: Is the effect of a vocational rehabilitation program with career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach different on the subjective career success of people with bipolar disorder? Is the effect of the vocational rehabilitation program different from career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach to the objective job success (income) of people with bipolar disorder? Is the effect of the vocational rehabilitation program different from career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach to the objective career success (promotion) of people with bipolar disorder?
Methods: The design of the current research was semi-experimental, of a pre-test-post-test-fallow-up type with a waiting group. All participants referred by a psychiatrist to a counseling clinic and diagnosed as having bipolar disorder were purposefully selected for the research, and among them, the volunteers were interviewed and diagnosed with a clinical interview based on the criteria of the DSM-5.  To select the research sample, inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered. 24 people were selected by the available sampling method and randomly assigned to groups. 8 people in the experimental group with a vocational rehabilitation program, 8 people in the experimental group with career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach, and 8 people in the waiting group. Before starting the interventions, a pre-test was taken from all 24 participants. After that, the people assigned to the two test groups received the relevant interventions in 10 sessions of 100 minutes (in the experimental intervention with the vocational rehabilitation program and the career counseling intervention based on the cognitive-behavioral approach) and the people present in the waiting group did not receive any intervention. The people participating in the interventions did not have any knowledge or contact with each other, and they tried to maintain is lack of knowledge and communication until the end of the intervention and prevent the exchange of information. For the vocational rehabilitation program and career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach, a pre-developed program was used separately, the validity and reliability of which had been checked and confirmed (5). Moreover, the vocational rehabilitation program, in addition to 10 intervention sessions for the individual with bipolar disorder, included two intervention sessions for the family and two sessions for the employer or his colleague, which are carried out if the individual needs and consents to these two intervention sessions were down. At the end of the interventions, all the people in the experimental and waiting groups filled out the questionnaires again as a post-test. One month after the implementation of the post-test, the research samples filled out the research questionnaires for the third time to implement the follow-up phase. To measure the subjective dimension of career success, the job satisfaction questionnaire (29) and the objective dimension of career success were measured by measuring the amount of income and job promotion. Research data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (variance analysis with repeated measures) using SPSS V. 16 software (30). Based on the background of the research, pre-test variables, age, and gender were covariate.
Results: In the post-test stage, the vocational rehabilitation program showed more effectiveness in subjective career success than the career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach (p<0.007) and the waiting group (p<0.006), but none of the two interventions, there was no significant effect on objective career success (p<1). Also, in the follow-up phase of the vocational rehabilitation program, it was more effective on subjective career success than the career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach (p<0.003) and the waiting group (p<0.0001), but between the scores of the participants in the intervention of career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach and the waiting group no significant difference was observed (p<0.26). Besides, there was no significant difference between the objective career success scores (income) of the participants in the two research interventions and the waiting group (p<0.2). In comparison, between the objective career success scores (promotion) of the participants in the two research interventions, there was no significant difference with the waiting group (p<0.36).
Conclusion: According to the data obtained from the results of the research, it can be said that the vocational rehabilitation program has been effective in increasing subjective career success scores, and even after one month of receiving the intervention, the effectiveness of this method has not decreased. Also, career counseling based on the cognitive-behavioral approach has not been effective in the subjective career success of people with bipolar disorder. Besides, none of the two interventions have been effective on the objective career success (income and promotion) of the people participating in the research. In general, according to the results of the research and the explanations presented, it seems that considering the clinical observations, the subjective career success of people with bipolar disorder during the interventions, especially in the vocational rehabilitation program, compared to the career counseling based on the Cognitive-behavioral approach more specifically deals with the career and its appendices, and in addition to managing people, it teaches a person how to build and deal with a real career future. Therefore, it is not far-fetched that a specialized vocational rehabilitation program that is specially designed for vocational interventions will be more effective (5). It is also important to note that increasing income is not a short-term process and requires a long time (34). In addition, this research coincided with the era of Coronavirus and the recession and closure of businesses (36), but under the influence of the interventions, at least the previous income level of the individual in these challenging conditions was maintained. Based on the clinical evidence from the reports of the people present in the research, especially the people who participated in the intervention of the vocational rehabilitation program, after participating in the intervention, these people were able to achieve a higher human credit status in the workplace than before, and the positive feedback of people around these people has confirmed that. Therefore, it seems that in addition to the objective promotion, maybe we can have a word called spiritual promotion, which based on the positive feedback these people received from the people around them at the workplace, is considered a great career success for these people. Will be In fact, it may be possible to talk about the existence of a kind of spiritual promotion in the workplace, which has not been mentioned in research so far (5). This study provides evidence of the effectiveness of the vocational rehabilitation program in increasing the career success of people with bipolar disorder. This new perspective can be used as a reliable source on the career interventions of people with bipolar disorder and can be effective as an early rehabilitation intervention in reducing the career issues of these people.
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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Psychiatric Rehabilitation

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