The relations between executive functions and occupational functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder: a scoping review.

Background: Patients with bipolar disorder experience impairments in their occupational functioning, despite remission of symptoms. Previous research has shown that neurocognitive deficits, especially deficits in executive functions, may persist during euthymia and are associated with diminished occupational functioning.

Objectives: The aim of this scoping review was to identify published studies that report on the relationships between executive functions and occupational functioning in BD to review current knowledge and identify knowledge gaps.

ELSiTO. a collaborative European initiative to foster social inclusion with persons experiencing mental illness.

ELSiTO (Empowering Learning for Social Inclusion Through Occupation), an international collaborative partnership, with over 30 members from Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands, aimed to explore the nature and processes of social inclusion for persons experiencing mental illness. Members included persons experiencing mental illness and health professionals. Four international visits and local activities enabled a knowledge creation process that combined the experience of social inclusion as we lived and worked together with exploration of the processes of community projects, narratives of experiences and reflective workshops.

"Doing" social inclusion with ELSiTO: empowering learning for social inclusion through occupation.

Objectives: The European partnership ELSiTO aimed to develop understanding of the nature and processes of social inclusion for persons experiencing mental illness.

Participants: Partners were from Belgium, Greece and The Netherlands with over 30 members including mental health service users, occupational therapists and other staff.

Approach: A knowledge-creation learning process was used during four international, experiential, visits and local meetings, which included visiting and describing good practice, telling stories of experiences, reflection and discussion.

Understanding living skills: first steps to evidence-based practice. Lessons learned from a practice-based journey in the Netherlands.

Living skills training is a commonly used but sparsely described and researched - occupational therapy - intervention for people with severe mental health problems. A service improvement project was established in a mental health organization in the Netherlands starting in 2006 to design more effective living skills training courses for individuals and groups. The steps of the evidence-based practice process underpinned the project.