Clubhouse International has been designated as a Center of Excellence (COE), for Clubhouse Services by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).
We’re proud to be part of California’s effort to expand access to and strengthen the continuum of community-based health services for individuals living with significant behavioral health needs.
The Clubhouse Model of psychosocial rehabilitation has been helping people recover from serious mental illness since the 1940s.
Clubhouse International
Clubhouse International is the only global mental health nonprofit that expands and enhances recovery opportunities for people living with mental illness by integrating our proven recovery model – the Clubhouse Model of psychosocial rehabilitation – into community-based systems of care worldwide.
Our network of 370+ Clubhouses in 32 countries supports 100,000+ adults each year, helping them reduce social and economic isolation through work, education, housing, and community.
Member Clubhouses
Clubhouses are community-based mental health programs designed to support and empower people living with serious mental illness to take control of their recovery. Rooted in the International Standards for Clubhouse Programs™, all accredited Clubhouses operate under our proven Clubhouse Model which places community connection, and meaningful work at the core of recovery. Each Clubhouse helps members thrive through access to opportunities for employment, socialization, education, skill development, housing, and improved wellness.
Clubhouse members help to manage their Clubhouse alongside Clubhouse staff through a concept called the Work-Ordered Day. It’s based on the idea that work promotes recovery by helping end isolation and building relationships and self-esteem because there is dignity and purpose in work and belonging.
Affordable & Effective
The model calls for the Clubhouse to be minimally staffed to provide opportunities for members to engage. Fewer clinical workers are required, making Clubhouses a cost-effective behavioral health investment with proven results.
The annual cost of Clubhouses is about one-third to one-half the cost of other well-known models.
Evidence-based Results
Within the supportive Clubhouse community, members are able to complete their education, find paid work, are more likely to be stably housed, and achieve health and wellness goals at significantly higher rates than others living with serious mental illness.
Clubhouse International makes the process easy:
It takes only two minutes to complete the Engagement Initiation Form (EIF): https://bit.ly/4mGSU0K
Submitting an Engagement Initiation Form (EIF) does not commit your county to opting in to BH-Connect
Submitting an Engagement Initiation Form (EIF) does not initiate any fidelity assessment timeline
The EIF allows Clubhouse International to connect with your county and all identified existing, converting, or new Clubhouses in your county.
As the Center of Excellence, Clubhouse International offers at no cost to the county or your providers:
training and technical assistance
accreditation preparation assistance
Clubhouse International membership
comprehensive Clubhouse Model training
on-site training and technical assistance from California-based Program Officers
access to data-collection platform
remote learning management system
Clubhouse Model Complements Other Treatment Modalities
Lasting, effective mental health care can’t be achieved with medication or therapy alone but must instead help people regain the skills and social support to reintegrate into their communities and thrive. The Clubhouse serves as the glue to keep members engaged and connected to psychiatric and medical care, housing, and employment.
We encourage you to review the information on this page and throughout our website to learn about and access resources available to you from Clubhouse International as you consider implementing an Accredited Clubhouse in your community.
CONTACT US & STAY ENGAGED Have a question or want to learn more about the Clubhouse Model? Send us an email at coe@clubhouse-intl.org and a member of our team will respond within three business days.
COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AGENCIES: Interested in initiating a consultation with us? Complete an engagement initiation form here: http://bit.ly/4mGSU0K. If you’re a behavioral health practitioner, please coordinate with your county behavioral health plan.
DATA COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS: Click here to learn more about our data collection requirements.
The Clubhouse movement is based on the concept of community, so local communities both in urban and rural areas open and run their own Clubhouses. Individual Clubhouses are membership-based organizations and so is Clubhouse International. We’re the international body that provides a common platform, training, accreditation, support and community for all Clubhouses.
Clubhouse International focuses on six key areas:
Expansion
We help open new Clubhouses around the world. Each new Clubhouse touches approx. 500 people in need.
Accreditation
We ensure successful member outcomes through Clubhouse Accreditation, our research-based quality program.
Training
We ensure new & mature Clubhouse sustainability through ongoing training and mentoring.
Advocacy
We advocate globally for government funding to support mental health programs, which ultimately helps open more Clubhouses.
Public Awareness
We work to end stigma by educating the public and media about mental illness and howthe Clubhouse Model is changing lives.
Research
We develop and enhance research to measure Clubhouse member outcomes and the effectiveness of the Clubhouse Model.
Mental Illness by the Numbers
1 in 4
people
around the world suffer from mental disorders — more than cancer, diabetes or heart disease.
50%
teens at risk
Half of those with mental disorders show signs of the disease by age 14, but it often takes more than 10 years to get treatment.
450 million
people
worldwide have some type of mental disorder.
90 suicides
every hour
Nearly 2,200 people/day (800,000/year) die by suicide—90% related to mental disorders.
360,000 people
with mental illness are housed in under-equipped US jails 35,000 are in hospitals
Inadequate Healthcare
Mental illness accounts for 20% of the global burden of disease. Only 3% of the world’s healthcare budgets goes to mental health needs
$2.5 trillion/year
in costs
Spent directly and indirectly on mental illness. We will spend $6 trillion by 2030 worldwide, more than heart disease, cancer and diabetes
Jack Yatsko has been with Clubhouse International since 2002, and his career in mental health spans 30 years. He began his Clubhouse career in Hawaii in 1989 at Friendship House, the first Clubhouse program in Hawaii.
Jack works closely with our Training Bases and Faculty for Clubhouse development; helps develop new Clubhouses; and provides technical assistance to many existing Clubhouses and groups or individuals seeking to learn more about the Clubhouse Model.
Jack continues to reside in Hawaii although his travels take him across the globe. He has a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Hawaii.
