The Clubhouse Model, founded in 1948, provides non-traditional psychosocial rehabilitation for adults with serious and persistent mental illness. The model has been effectively replicated throughout the US and the world. The remarkable evidence-based outcomes produced by the Clubhouse Model are the result of adherence to the International

Standards for Clubhouse Programs which define how Clubhouse programs operate.

 

Accredited Clubhouse are:

• A place where people with serious mental illness (members) participate in their own recovery process by working and socializing together in a safe, welcoming environment.

• An organization that operates on proven standards developed over 5 decades by Clubhouse International and effective in over 320 Clubhouses worldwide.

• A community-based approach that complements available psychiatric and medical treatments.

• Membership is voluntary and long-term.

• Members have a key role in organizing Clubhouse activities. Staff and members work together as colleagues.

• Work, education and social activities in the Clubhouse are meaningful and help members regain self-worth, confidence and purpose.

• Clubhouses provide paid employment opportunities in local businesses for members who want work; we help members become successful employees.

• Fidelity to the Clubhouse Model is ensured by an accreditation process facilitated by Clubhouse International, an association of Clubhouses that coordinates communication, training, development, and the accreditation of individual Clubhouses throughout the world. The Clubhouse Model has been uniquely and successfully providing real recovery options for adults with mental illness for more than 50 years. In the US, there are 206 Clubhouse model programs in 34 different states serving more than 20,000 of the most underserved and seriously mentally adults. 

 

(https://clubhouse-intl.org/what-we-do/what-clubhouses-do/)

Clubhouses are a powerful demonstration of the fact that people with mental illness can and do lead normal, productive lives. Clubhouses are local community centers that provide members with opportunities to build long-term relationships that, in turn, support them in obtaining employment, education and housing, including:

 

• a work-ordered day in which the talents and abilities of members are recognized and utilized within the Clubhouse;

• participation in consensus-based decision-making regarding all important matters relating to the running of the Clubhouse;

• opportunities to obtain paid employment in the local labor market through a Clubhouse-created Transitional Employment Program. In addition, members participate in Clubhouse-supported and Independent programs;

• assistance in accessing community-based educational resources;

• access to crisis intervention services when needed;

• evening/weekend social and recreational events; and

• assistance in securing and sustaining safe, decent and affordable housing.

 

A Clubhouse is organized to support people living with mental illness. During the course of their participation in a Clubhouse, members gain access to opportunities to rejoin the worlds of friendships, family, employment and education, and to the services and support they may individually need to continue their recovery. A Clubhouse provides a restorative environment for people whose lives have been severely disrupted because of their mental illness, and who need the support of others who are in recovery and who believe that mental illness is treatable.