Building a New Career Following Mental Health Recovery

Building a New Career Following Mental Health Recovery

Overview

Following a successful career as a Managing Director, a man in his 50s experienced significant mental health difficulties that ultimately led him to leave work. Subsequent assessment identified ADHD and autism, helping explain years of masking behaviours and work-related stress. He wished to remain economically active but recognised that returning to his previous career was unlikely to be sustainable.

The Challenge

The client experienced severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, panic attacks and a significant loss of confidence and purpose. At the point of referral, he rarely left home and struggled to imagine returning to employment.

Assessment

A vocational triage identified the need for psychological intervention before vocational planning could begin. Following psychotherapy, avocational redirection assessment explored transferable skills, work preferences and future career options.

Vocational Rehabilitation in Action

The client completed twelve psychotherapy sessions before beginning vocational redirection alongside occupational therapy.

Together, the multidisciplinary team identified environmental surveying as a career that better matched both his skills and neurodivergent profile.

Occupational therapy focused on practical workplace strategies including task initiation, planning, sensory regulation, concentration and report writing. Vocational consultants provided career coaching, CV development, interview preparation and work experience opportunities, while an industry mentor helped build professional connections.

Support was coordinated throughout the client's retraining  ,ensuring clinical rehabilitation and vocational development progressed together.

Outcome

The client successfully completed his environmental surveying qualification, gained over 400 hours of work experience and secured full-time employment within four months of qualifying.

Clinical outcome measures showed anxiety and depression reducing from severe to minimal levels, while the client reported feeling equipped to manage both work demands and his neurodivergence in a sustainable way.

"The multidisciplinary support allowed me to bridge the gap between my previous role and a new career that I can sustain into the future."

Key Learning

Vocational rehabilitation is not always about returning someone to their previous job. Sometimes the most successful outcome is supporting an individual to build a healthier, more sustainable working future.

Innovate Rehabilitation by RTW Plus

https://innovate-rehabilitation.co.uk