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Evaluation ViewAttendees 2

Traditional Workshop - Ticketed

Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders

Teaching Cognitive Self-Management Strategies to Improve Employment Outcomes in People with Serious Mental Illness

Workshop 11 - Teaching Cognitive Self-management Strategies to Improve Employment Outcomes in People with Serious Mental Illness

Saturday, November 16, 2024
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM EST
Location: 411/412, Level 4, Downtown Marriott
Earn 3 Credit
Ticketed Session
Keywords: Severe Mental Illness, Recovery, Evidence-Based Practice
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Allott, K., van-der-El, K., Bryce, S., Parrish, E. M., McGurk, S. R., Hetrick, S., Bowie, C. R., Kidd, S., Hamilton, M., Killackey, E., & Velligan, D. (2020). Compensatory interventions for cognitive impairments in psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46, 869-83.,   DeTore, N. R., Balogun-Mwangi, O., Mueser, K. T., & McGurk, S. R. (2023). Comparison of Black and White participants with severe mental illness in response to cognitive remediation as an augmentation of vocational rehabilitation. Schizophrenia Research, 253, 60-7.,   McGurk, S. R., & Mueser, K. T. (2021). Cognitive Remediation for Successful Employment and Psychiatric Recovery: The Thinking Skills for Work Program. New York: Guilford Press.,   Vita, A., Barlati, S., Ceraso, A., Nibbio, G., Ariu, C., Deste, G., & Wykes, T. (2021). Effectiveness, core elements, and moderators of response of cognitive remediation for schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 78, 848-858.

,   McGurk, S. R., Mueser, K. T., Xie, H., Welsh, J., Bailey, E., Guarino, S., Kaiser, S., Fraser, V., Drake, R. E., Becker, D. R., Wolfe, R., & McHugo, G. J. (2015). Cognitive enhancement treatment for people with mental illness who do not respond to supported employment: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 852-61.
The Thinking Skills for Work (TSW) program is a cognitive remediation program for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) including 1) computer cognitive practice exercises, 2) strategy coaching to improve performance on cognitive exercises, and 3) teaching cognitive self-management (i.e., compensatory) strategies for improving cognitive performance (e.g., sharpening attention and memory, challenging negative thinking) in day-to-day situations. Although multiple randomized controlled trials have shown that adding the TSW program to supported employment improves cognitive functioning and competitive work outcomes more than supported employment alone, more recent research shows that enhancing cognitive self-management strategies alone improves cognitive functioning and work outcomes in persons with SMI. This workshop will provide background on the assessment of cognitive difficulties interfering with the attainment of clients’ work goals, and it will cover methods for teaching cognitive self-management strategies based on a standardized curriculum of ten educational handouts as described in the McGurk and Mueser (2021) book on TSW. Teaching methods will include didactic presentation, modeling and role plays (including both leaders and participants), discussion of case vignettes, and questions and answers.

Outline:
• Cognitive self-management strategies are noncomputer-based methods for improving everyday cognition (e.g., repeating back verbal information to ensure attention and comprehension, establishing “memory spots” for frequently used items to improve organization, and constructing “To Do” lists for planning).
• Recent cognitive remediation research shows that teaching cognitive self-management strategies alone (without computer cognitive training) can improve cognition and work outcomes in people with mental health conditions.
• This workshop will introduce participants to methods for teaching cognitive self-management strategies for improving competitive employment in persons with mental health conditions based on the Thinking Skills for Work program.
• Curriculum for teaching self-management strategies will be reviewed, including ten educational handouts for clients.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Summarize the relationship between cognitive functioning and employment outcomes in people with SMI receiving supported employment services.
  2. Identify three different methods for pinpointing cognitive challenges underlying problems in persons with SMI obtaining or keeping competitive jobs.
  3. Describe at least two cognitive self-management strategies per cognitive domain for helping clients improve their cognitive abilities in the areas of attention/concentration, memory, planning, and problem-solving.
  4. Show how to educate clients about cognition, work, and cognitive self-management strategies using at least three principles of psychoeducation.
  5. Demonstrate how to teach at least two cognitive self-management strategies based on skills training and cognitive-behavioral techniques.
  6. Long-term Goal: Equip participants with tools and resources for teaching clients self-management strategies for improving their cognitive performance at work and in everyday situations.