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We Keep On Truckin'
Patty Navratil's Success Story
Patty was referred by her clinical team to our mental health program, also known as Individual Placement and Support (IPS), at Functional Industries, Inc. (FII) in 2011. When asked what she remembers about herself and her life at the time she was referred, she answered, “I wasn’t feeling good about myself and my therapist suggested I get out of the house and do what I love to do, which is being around people.”
Patty met with Bridget, an employment specialist at FII, and Hilary, a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, to talk about her interest in finding work and what type of work she wanted to look for. Patty mentioned her dream job has always been to work with children and in a floral shop but was hesitant due to concerns she had with her mental health and a learning disability. She was afraid that the children or customers would notice her struggle with reading comprehension and spelling; although, was more worried her mental health would surface while at work. This worried her because she was not sure how she’d work through it alone. She described her mental health similar to a panic attack, but for her; she said she “starts to shut down”. She becomes very quiet and starts to withdraw and she knew she could not do either of those things when working with children.
When she heard about the IPS program she was excited because it sounded like someone would not only be able to help her find the job but also help her discuss her mental health and learning disability with an employer. Bridget and Hilary worked with Patty’s support team (therapist and county social worker) to help provide encouragement, teach her techniques to help manage her mental health, and looked at ways to support her learning disability as she looked for a job working with children.
Patty started job searching which included meeting with Bridget to search for available positions, fill out applications, go to interviews, etc. Along with the job search, she also practiced several strategies to help maintain focus, to control anxiety, increase confidence and remain calm in stressful situations which were the concern areas she noted about her mental health. She learned how to independently recognize when a situation was too overwhelming and when and how to implement ways to quickly handle it and relax. This was key to her being and feeling successful at work.
In September of 2013, her dream came true! She was hired on as a classroom aide working with preschool age children. She was thrilled yet scared at the same time. The time had come to put all her practice in managing her mental health and overcoming her learning disability to the test.
In her first few weeks, she utilized her support team daily to talk about how work went, to problem solve, receive encouragement and assurance that starting work is hard for anyone and that being nervous and scared are normal feelings to have. She also talked to her support team about her mental health and learning disability and was given verbal praise for seeking out her supervisor and openly sharing what helps her to be most successful at work.
Over time, Patty’s confidence grew not only in her job duties, but in her ability to independently overcome her initial concerns with her mental health and learning disability. She noted “I got to a point where I didn’t ask as many questions and that felt good.”
"My dad always used to say, we NEVER give up… we keep on truckin’!"
Patty Navratil
Currently, Patty continues to utilize her support team to talk about concerns at work or to simply ask for guidance; however, she no longer needs this daily. She meets with her therapist and Employment Specialist once a week and will call if something else comes up. Her employer is an important piece to her success as well and is available to Patty while at work to answer questions or simply give encouragement when needed.
Patty’s story is one of many success stories of people utilizing the IPS program to help them find and maintain employment. To learn more about the program, please contact Krissy Eich at 763-350-6186.