November 9, 1998; page A10

Program Helps Mentally Ill Reclaim Their Lives

By Robin Wilson

Lisa A. Bellafato, who teachers computer skills to the mentally ill: Their "biggest challenge is just getting used to the structure."

A middle-aged woman in a red and navy-blue dress sits before a computer, her well-groomed fingernails tapping a steady pace on the keyboard. She looks like any number of office secretaries in this town. In fact, years ago the woman worked as a clerk in a doctor's office, taking information from sick people.

Now, she's the patient—at Boston University's Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. The woman, who didn't want her name published, is among 14 adults enrolled in a yearlong program here called Training for the Future. It helps people with severe mental illnesses learn computer skills to get back into the work force.

Four years ago, the woman was hit with a major bout of depression. She hasn't worked since. Before she began her training here last November, she says, "I did not dress up or do my hair." Now, she adds: "I have something to go to."

The five-year-old program at Boston University focuses on people with severe depression and schizophrenia. Whereas a decade ago, such people spent most of their time trying to cope with their illnesses, drugs like Prozac and Zyprexa can now wipe away many of their symptoms. "They may not be cured, but, with new medications, they can recover," says Larry Kohn, who started the training program here and holds a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling.

Computer-Related Skills

Students here learn word-processing, data-entry, and other computer-related skills, with the hope that-they will be able to land entry-level office jobs. The program even secures each of them an internship after 10 months of training, to give them a jump-start. Tuition is $8,500 per student, but money donated to the program helps defray some of the students' bills.

To approximate an office atmosphere, the program runs five days a week, with an hour each day for lunch. The teachers here also help students learn the importance of getting to work on time and of developing the stamina to finish a task. "One of the biggest challenges at the beginning is just getting used to the structure," says Lisa A. Bellafato, who does the technical computer training with the students.

William A. Anthony, Executive Director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, says Training for the Future helps the research-oriented center "avoid becoming an ivory tower." He explains: "We're trying to demonstrate what good psychiatric rehabilitation is, and show the world that people with mental illness can recover. The program, he says, is the only one of its kind on a college campus.

The 14 students here have just completed their computer training and will spend this month and next in unpaid internships. In December, the students will "graduate," receiving certificates in a ceremony at an ornate building on the campus called the Castle. Since 1993, fifty-six students have graduated. About 65 per cent of them landed jobs after their internships.

Mr. Kohn says the center decided to offer technology training because computers can capitalize on the strengths of the mentally ill. "The computer gives them instant feedback and taps into their intellect, rather than their interpersonal skills," he says.

Many of the students here have been sick for years, bouncing in and out of hospitals. Some once held demanding jobs, but most have not worked steadily for years. Many attended college, and some even earned graduate degrees before suffering a mental breakdown. One student who completed the program holds a Ph.D. in neurobiology.

For most of the students, the training program is one of the first successful experiences they have had in years. When Laura G. Klebanow started the program last year, she could type only 25 words per minute. Now, she's up to 65. Still, that doesn't match the 80 words per minute she could type when she worked as a secretary during the early 1980s.

But Ms. Klebanow wasn't happy in her job. "I felt like I was not worth anything as a secretary," she says. She had graduated with a bachelor's degree in French from Cornell University in 1977 and was depressed that she had never found a professional job. In 1982, Ms. Klebanow tried to hang herself. For years after that, she remained suicidal. Finally, she found medication that has gradually stabilized her condition. But until she enrolled here she had held only part-time jobs helping to arrange flowers. The training here is helping her reclaim her life. "It's like a leap in the right direction," she says.

A Hard Sell

The students here are starting their internships this month as part-time clerical workers at places like Andersen Consulting, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the state chapter of the American Lung Association. Rob Salafia, who helps the students find internships and then secure permanent jobs afterwards, has a hard sell. Employers are understandably concerned about opening up their offices to someone who is mentally ill. "You have to appeal to people's sense of social responsibility," he says.

Some arrangements don't work out. One student who was placed at the American Lung Association here began writing angry letters to his supervisor and leaving messages on her office voice mail after midnight. The supervisor acknowledges that she was unnerved, but she has signed up to take another intern this month.

The program has its success stories, as well. Laura M. Davis, who completed the computer training last December, now has a permanent job as a purchasing assistant for the New England Aquarium. She was diagnosed with depression in high school and, until her participation in the program here, she had never held a job. This month, the 23-year-old will move from her parents' home to an apartment of her own.

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Copyright © 1998 by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Posted with permission on the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. This article may not be published, reposted, or redistributed without express permission from The Chronicle. To obtain such permission, please send a message to permission@chronicle.com. For subscription information, send a message to circulation@chronicle.com; http://chronicle.com