Building Employment Skills Through Therapy for Veterans

Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder is associated with serious problems with cognitive skills, social skills, and functional skills (like employment). There is a new form of cognitive behavioral therapy called integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) that specifically addresses the cognitive, social, and functional deficits of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. This study compared iCBT to the usual care (UC) that Veteran's receive. The investigators compared iCBT to UC in subjects with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder who are enrolled in a Supported Employment (SE) program, and evaluate whether iCBT is more helpful in improving job attainment, and other areas of functioning, both right after treatment, and 6 months after the end of treatment.

The objective of the current study was to evaluate whether integrated cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) can improve engagement and success in an existing Supported Employment (SE) program among the most functionally disabled patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. The iCBT condition also included computerized cognitive remediation. The primary specific aim was to determine whether iCBT will significantly improve work outcomes at post-treatment to a greater extent than Usual Care (UC) in low functioning patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder who join the SE program. The secondary aims were to evaluate the whether iCBT will significantly improve work outcomes at 6 month follow-up relative to UC, and whether iCBT will improve functional outcomes post-treatment and at follow-up relative to UC in subjects who join the SE program.