ROSE is a Leonardo da Vinci funded project aimed at reducing stress and burnout amongst people working in the mental health and intellectual disability occupational support sector. The project is being carried out by 9 different partner organisations across 6 EU member states.
The literature indicates that working with this group of people in support and training centres can be particularly challenging for staff in terms of occupational stress, emotional exhaustion and ‘burnout’. This is a significant reason for experienced staff leaving their jobs. This in turn reduces the ability of services to provide effective support to people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities.
Whilst a number of stress management programmes have been developed for staff working in clinical environments no such programmes have been developed to support staff working in rehabilitation, employment support or social care environments.
The ROSE project is particularly significant at this time as levels of stress in the workplace and society at large are likely to increase as a consequence of the current economic downturn.