Experiences of Being a Clubhouse Member –Qualitative Studies in the context of Norway

Project summary

Clubhouses/Fountain Houses are psychosocial rehabilitation programs, originally established in New York City approximately 60 years ago, which offer social, educational, and vocational opportunities to adults experiencing mental health problems (members), including transitional employment. The main tool in the clubhouse model is the work-ordered day: staff and members work side by side to perform jobs essential to the operation of the clubhouse. Worldwide, around 350 clubhouses are established; including 10 in Norway. There are several empirical studies of the model. However, little is known about how members perceive the active ingredients of helpful relationships and support in the clubhouse community, particularly in Norway. Thus, the overall aim of this PhD project is to develop an understanding of the usefulness of the clubhouse model from Norwegian members´ perspectives: To explore how their experiences of (1) being clubhouse members, (2) helpful processes of social- and vocational recovery, and (3) processes of change within the clubhouse context. 

Method

Method: Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, this study involves in-depth, semi-structured interviews of a purpose sample of 20 clubhouse members. The participants will be recruited from two accredited Norwegian clubhouses and the data collected in their clubhouse.  Implications: The results of this study might be the validation of the clubhouse model as a valuable intervention to empower persons with severe mental illness to rebuild their social network and a working life, and the necessity for modifications to be founded on empirical studies of members lived expertise and knowledge about the clubhouse model.