Bonnie Kirsh
Biographic Data
| ID | 156555 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bonnie Kirsh |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bonnie |
| FAMILY NAME | Kirsh |
| SIGNATURE | KIRSH B |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Toronto |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3266-6742 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 44 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Beyond Securing a tenancy
Individuals experiencing homelessness have a range of unmet needs during homelessness. Less is known about how these daily living needs evolve in the transition to housing and how existing services are supporting individuals to meet these needs. Using the capabilities approach, we conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study with two participant groups (unhoused; housed between 1 and 24 months). Using thematic analysis, we generated five meta-th…
Retaining and supporting employees with mental illness through inclusive organizations
Purpose Although awareness is growing of the importance of employee mental health and the value of inclusive work practices, less is known about how to support employees with mental illness (MI). We aimed to explore organizational strategies and work practices that promote retention and support of employees living with MI in relation to past theory-driven research by building and extending current theory. Design/methodology/approach We adopted a …
Critical Characteristics of Housing and Housing Supports for Individuals with Concurrent Traumatic Brain Injury and Mental Health and/or Substance Use Challenges
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental health and/or substance use challenges (MHSU) are commonly co-occurring and prevalent in individuals experiencing homelessness; however, evidence suggests that systems of care are siloed and organized around clinical diagnoses. Research is needed to understand how housing and housing supports are provided to this complex and understudied group in the context of siloed service systems. This study aimed to de…
The Ontario Disability Support Program Work Exit Process
There is a lack of empirical data on the experiences of people with mental illness (PMI) who transition from welfare to work and how policy programs are designed to facilitate this outcome. We explore the factors that facilitate or hinder PMI from exiting disability income support programs in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on a grounded theory approach, we examine the process of exiting the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Data were collected…
A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder
We greatly appreciate the care and thought that is evident in the 10 commentaries that discuss our debate paper, the majority of which argued in favor of a formalized ICD-11 gaming disorder. We agree that there are some people whose play of video games is related to life problems. We believe that understanding this population and the nature and severity of the problems they experience should be a focus area for future research. However, moving fr…
Fear and Distrust Within the Canadian Welfare System
While experiences of fear and distrust have been documented as a part of recipients’ interactions with disability benefits, there have been few attempts to explore how they are shaped by system features and their impact on employment pursuits. The purpose of this article is to unpack how fear and distrust emerge among people with mental illness who have recently entered the welfare system. Using an interpretative qualitative approach, the authors…
The social organization of workplace mental health
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make visible the ways in which peoples’ experiences of mental ill health are coordinated and produced in the workplace setting. Design/methodology/approach This institutional ethnography draws from data collected from 16 informants in one Canadian industrial manufacturing plant to explicate how texts organize activities and align worker consciousness and actions with company expectations of a “bona fide” il…
The “Work” of Workplace Mental Health
This article employs institutional ethnography (IE) inclusive of its distinctive epistemological stance to elucidate the institutional organization of the everyday work experience of the employee living with self-reported depression. The study was conducted within a large industrial manufacturing plant in Ontario, Canada. We discuss three institutionally organized processes that play a dominant role in coordinating the experiences of employees wi…
Client, Contextual and Program Elements Influencing Supported Employment
After the Storm
In this study, we explored the experiences of 13 individuals who had suffered an electrical injury at work and had subsequently returned to work. In this article, we report on the social, institutional, and relational elements that workers perceived to influence return to work experiences and the provision of workplace accommodations. These elements included (a) worker resources, (b) job characteristics, (c) workplace setting, (d) injury elements…
Organizational analysis of Canadian supported employment programs for people with psychiatric disabilities
The nature and meaning of occupational engagement for forensic clients living in the community
There are few studies on how individuals with mental illness who have been charged with committing a crime and who are living in the community, spend their time and feel about it. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and meaning of occupational engagement for these individuals. Criterion sampling was used to ensure that all participants were able to provide descriptions of their experience. Ten participants, 5 males and 5 females, …
A Pan-Canadian Evaluation of Supported Employment Programs Dedicated to People with Severe Mental Disorders
An Occupational Journey
While the relationship between divorce, alcoholism, and their social impact have been established, there is little research on women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism, especially from an occupational perspective. This cross case analysis was undertaken to develop an understanding of the occupational journeys of women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism. For this study, an occupational journey is defined as the pathway of activitie…
Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy
Lynn Cockburn, Terry Krupa, Jerome Bickenbach, Bonnie Kirsh, Rebecca Gewurtz, Philana Chan, Meridith McClenaghan, Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy, Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jun., 2006), pp. 197-211
Developing a Comprehensive Understanding of the Working Alliance in Community Mental Health
The concept of a working alliance as a key ingredient within therapeutic processes has been emphasized by many community mental health researchers and practitioners. However, few studies have provided insights into the dimensions and operationalization of the concept. To address this gap, the authors analyzed data on the working alliance derived from two qualitative data sets: (a) interviews conducted with 33 users of community mental health serv…
The Experience of Developing a Package of Instruments to Measure the Critical Characteristics of Community Support Programs for People with a Severe Mental Illness
A major challenge for program evaluators is to develop and use measures of program implementation that are both comprehensive and generalizable across programs. The goal is to understand how measures of program characteristics are related to outcomes and, ultimately, to improve program effectiveness. In this brief report, we describe our experience in developing a package of instruments to measure critical characteristics of community support pro…
Victims Twice Over
The authors discuss the qualitative component of a participatory research project conducted in Toronto, Ontario, between 1999 and 2001. Injured workers, who were trained as peer researchers, conducted one-time, semistructured interviews with other injured workers (N = 17) and helped with inductive coding and analyzing the interview transcripts. The qualitative research group consisted of seven peer researchers, four academic researchers, and a co…
A Pan-Canadian Evaluation of Supported Employment Programs Dedicated to People with Severe Mental Disorders
Victims Twice Over
The authors discuss the qualitative component of a participatory research project conducted in Toronto, Ontario, between 1999 and 2001. Injured workers, who were trained as peer researchers, conducted one-time, semistructured interviews with other injured workers (N = 17) and helped with inductive coding and analyzing the interview transcripts. The qualitative research group consisted of seven peer researchers, four academic researchers, and a co…
Developing a Comprehensive Understanding of the Working Alliance in Community Mental Health
The concept of a working alliance as a key ingredient within therapeutic processes has been emphasized by many community mental health researchers and practitioners. However, few studies have provided insights into the dimensions and operationalization of the concept. To address this gap, the authors analyzed data on the working alliance derived from two qualitative data sets: (a) interviews conducted with 33 users of community mental health serv…
Fear and Distrust Within the Canadian Welfare System
While experiences of fear and distrust have been documented as a part of recipients’ interactions with disability benefits, there have been few attempts to explore how they are shaped by system features and their impact on employment pursuits. The purpose of this article is to unpack how fear and distrust emerge among people with mental illness who have recently entered the welfare system. Using an interpretative qualitative approach, the authors…
Retaining and supporting employees with mental illness through inclusive organizations
Purpose Although awareness is growing of the importance of employee mental health and the value of inclusive work practices, less is known about how to support employees with mental illness (MI). We aimed to explore organizational strategies and work practices that promote retention and support of employees living with MI in relation to past theory-driven research by building and extending current theory. Design/methodology/approach We adopted a …
Organizational analysis of Canadian supported employment programs for people with psychiatric disabilities
The Ontario Disability Support Program Work Exit Process
There is a lack of empirical data on the experiences of people with mental illness (PMI) who transition from welfare to work and how policy programs are designed to facilitate this outcome. We explore the factors that facilitate or hinder PMI from exiting disability income support programs in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on a grounded theory approach, we examine the process of exiting the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Data were collected…
Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy
Lynn Cockburn, Terry Krupa, Jerome Bickenbach, Bonnie Kirsh, Rebecca Gewurtz, Philana Chan, Meridith McClenaghan, Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy, Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jun., 2006), pp. 197-211
An Occupational Journey
While the relationship between divorce, alcoholism, and their social impact have been established, there is little research on women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism, especially from an occupational perspective. This cross case analysis was undertaken to develop an understanding of the occupational journeys of women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism. For this study, an occupational journey is defined as the pathway of activitie…
The Experience of Developing a Package of Instruments to Measure the Critical Characteristics of Community Support Programs for People with a Severe Mental Illness
A major challenge for program evaluators is to develop and use measures of program implementation that are both comprehensive and generalizable across programs. The goal is to understand how measures of program characteristics are related to outcomes and, ultimately, to improve program effectiveness. In this brief report, we describe our experience in developing a package of instruments to measure critical characteristics of community support pro…
Victims Twice Over
The authors discuss the qualitative component of a participatory research project conducted in Toronto, Ontario, between 1999 and 2001. Injured workers, who were trained as peer researchers, conducted one-time, semistructured interviews with other injured workers (N = 17) and helped with inductive coding and analyzing the interview transcripts. The qualitative research group consisted of seven peer researchers, four academic researchers, and a co…
An Occupational Journey
While the relationship between divorce, alcoholism, and their social impact have been established, there is little research on women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism, especially from an occupational perspective. This cross case analysis was undertaken to develop an understanding of the occupational journeys of women who have divorced a spouse with alcoholism. For this study, an occupational journey is defined as the pathway of activitie…
Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy
Lynn Cockburn, Terry Krupa, Jerome Bickenbach, Bonnie Kirsh, Rebecca Gewurtz, Philana Chan, Meridith McClenaghan, Work and Psychiatric Disability in Canadian Disability Policy, Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jun., 2006), pp. 197-211
Developing a Comprehensive Understanding of the Working Alliance in Community Mental Health
The concept of a working alliance as a key ingredient within therapeutic processes has been emphasized by many community mental health researchers and practitioners. However, few studies have provided insights into the dimensions and operationalization of the concept. To address this gap, the authors analyzed data on the working alliance derived from two qualitative data sets: (a) interviews conducted with 33 users of community mental health serv…
The nature and meaning of occupational engagement for forensic clients living in the community
There are few studies on how individuals with mental illness who have been charged with committing a crime and who are living in the community, spend their time and feel about it. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature and meaning of occupational engagement for these individuals. Criterion sampling was used to ensure that all participants were able to provide descriptions of their experience. Ten participants, 5 males and 5 females, …
A Pan-Canadian Evaluation of Supported Employment Programs Dedicated to People with Severe Mental Disorders
Organizational analysis of Canadian supported employment programs for people with psychiatric disabilities
After the Storm
In this study, we explored the experiences of 13 individuals who had suffered an electrical injury at work and had subsequently returned to work. In this article, we report on the social, institutional, and relational elements that workers perceived to influence return to work experiences and the provision of workplace accommodations. These elements included (a) worker resources, (b) job characteristics, (c) workplace setting, (d) injury elements…
The “Work” of Workplace Mental Health
This article employs institutional ethnography (IE) inclusive of its distinctive epistemological stance to elucidate the institutional organization of the everyday work experience of the employee living with self-reported depression. The study was conducted within a large industrial manufacturing plant in Ontario, Canada. We discuss three institutionally organized processes that play a dominant role in coordinating the experiences of employees wi…
Client, Contextual and Program Elements Influencing Supported Employment
A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder
We greatly appreciate the care and thought that is evident in the 10 commentaries that discuss our debate paper, the majority of which argued in favor of a formalized ICD-11 gaming disorder. We agree that there are some people whose play of video games is related to life problems. We believe that understanding this population and the nature and severity of the problems they experience should be a focus area for future research. However, moving fr…
Fear and Distrust Within the Canadian Welfare System
While experiences of fear and distrust have been documented as a part of recipients’ interactions with disability benefits, there have been few attempts to explore how they are shaped by system features and their impact on employment pursuits. The purpose of this article is to unpack how fear and distrust emerge among people with mental illness who have recently entered the welfare system. Using an interpretative qualitative approach, the authors…
The social organization of workplace mental health
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make visible the ways in which peoples’ experiences of mental ill health are coordinated and produced in the workplace setting. Design/methodology/approach This institutional ethnography draws from data collected from 16 informants in one Canadian industrial manufacturing plant to explicate how texts organize activities and align worker consciousness and actions with company expectations of a “bona fide” il…
The Ontario Disability Support Program Work Exit Process
There is a lack of empirical data on the experiences of people with mental illness (PMI) who transition from welfare to work and how policy programs are designed to facilitate this outcome. We explore the factors that facilitate or hinder PMI from exiting disability income support programs in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on a grounded theory approach, we examine the process of exiting the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Data were collected…
Critical Characteristics of Housing and Housing Supports for Individuals with Concurrent Traumatic Brain Injury and Mental Health and/or Substance Use Challenges
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental health and/or substance use challenges (MHSU) are commonly co-occurring and prevalent in individuals experiencing homelessness; however, evidence suggests that systems of care are siloed and organized around clinical diagnoses. Research is needed to understand how housing and housing supports are provided to this complex and understudied group in the context of siloed service systems. This study aimed to de…
Retaining and supporting employees with mental illness through inclusive organizations
Purpose Although awareness is growing of the importance of employee mental health and the value of inclusive work practices, less is known about how to support employees with mental illness (MI). We aimed to explore organizational strategies and work practices that promote retention and support of employees living with MI in relation to past theory-driven research by building and extending current theory. Design/methodology/approach We adopted a …
Beyond Securing a tenancy
Individuals experiencing homelessness have a range of unmet needs during homelessness. Less is known about how these daily living needs evolve in the transition to housing and how existing services are supporting individuals to meet these needs. Using the capabilities approach, we conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study with two participant groups (unhoused; housed between 1 and 24 months). Using thematic analysis, we generated five meta-th…
Psychology (18 works) · Political science (14 works) · Psychiatry (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Mental health (10 works) · Public relations (10 works) · Business (8 works) · Mental illness (7 works) · Qualitative research (7 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (6 works)