Vocational Coaching & Supported Employment

Vocational coaching

Vocational coaching helps adults set and reach goals around work. It's for people who have never had a job, have been out of work for a long time, or keep losing jobs and can't figure out why. For many of our clients, mental health symptoms have made work hard, and getting back to it is one of their biggest goals.

Work brings more than a paycheck. It gives structure to the day, a reason to get up, people to talk to, and a sense of being useful. Research consistently links meaningful work with better mental health outcomes.

Supported employment

Supported employment goes a step further. Instead of spending months getting "job ready" first, the person looks for a real job in the community fairly soon, with ongoing support once they're hired. The best-studied version, Individual Placement and Support, has shown much higher employment rates for people with serious mental illness than traditional vocational programs.

Support doesn't stop on the first day. It continues as long as it's needed, through the first difficult review, the first schedule change and the first conflict with a coworker.

What we help with

• Figuring out direction. Strengths, interests, past jobs, and what kind of work would fit right now.

• Applications. Resumes, cover letters, online applications and explaining gaps in work history.

• Interviews. Practice runs, what to wear, how to get there, and what to say about health if anything.

• Accommodations. Understanding rights under the ADA and deciding whether to ask for changes at work.

• The first months. Building a routine around the job, handling stress, and solving problems early.

• School and training. Community college, certificates and volunteer work as stepping stones.

How it works at Sanare

Our clinicians are mental health professionals, so we can work on the symptoms that get in the way of work, not only the job search itself. A client whose anxiety spikes before shifts might practice coping skills in the car before going in. A client with depression might plan the evening routine that makes the next morning possible.

Visits happen at home, at the library, near the workplace, wherever the work is happening, from one to five times a week. Vocational coaching often pairs with executive functioning coaching and social skills coaching.

Vocational coaching in Denver

We work with adults 18 and older across the Denver and Boulder metro. Get in touch or call 303.476.1974.