4 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The study will test the hypothesis that mindfulness-based neurofeedback (mbNF) will improve repetitive negative thinking and social and role functioning over sham neurofeedback in adolescents at risk for serious mental illness. To do so, 90 adolescents ages 14-21 with elevated repetitive negative thinking will be enrolled into a double-blind randomized clinical trial of sessions of mindfulness training with either active mindfulness-based neurofeedback or sham neurofeedback and three months of mindfulness practice and follow up.
This study addresses the critical need for innovative therapeutic interventions in Veterans with serious mental illnesses (SMI) receiving care in VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs). The vast majority of individuals with SMI suffer from cognitive impairments, leading to chronic functional disability, and impaired outcomes, causing a significant strain on support networks and the VA healthcare system. This study aims to introduce an innovative mental health therapy, Targeted Cognitive Training (TCT), to Veterans struggling with serious mental illnesses (SMI). TCT works to improve basic sensory information processing and, ultimately, clinical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning. By using EEG biomarkers to identify Veterans with SMI receiving care within VA Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers who are most likely to benefit from this treatment, and by understanding how best to implement this therapy, the investigators hope to enhance care and improve life quality for Veterans with SMI.
The goal of this project is to evaluate an innovative psychosocial intervention package that will incorporate evidence-based treatment strategies to target the affective-motivational deficits, negative expectancies, and behavioral skills deficits that are central to the maintenance of negative symptoms. The intervention - called EnCoRE (Engaging in Community Roles and Experiences) - will include strategies aimed at teaching Veterans with schizophrenia and negative symptoms ways to (1) overcome deficits in anticipatory pleasure, (2) increase intrinsic motivation for goal-directed activities, (3) reduce expectancies for failure, and (4) perform skillfully in new social situations, all of which can impact implementation of new skills and behaviors. Rather than develop a new set of intervention strategies, the investigators will include within EnCoRE evidence-based strategies for these treatment domains. In addition, the investigators will collect qualitative information both from Veterans concerning their perceptions of the strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to participation in EnCoRE, as well as from a sample of mental health providers who work with Veterans with schizophrenia and negative symptoms, in order to inform a larger scale implementation trial should EnCoRE prove effective here.
This project seeks to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of combining cognitive remediation and Supported Employment Program (SEP) services to improve work outcomes in people with a serious mental illness who have been unable to benefit from vocational services (i.e., acquire or maintain a job). Cognitive remediation involves treating and improving cognitive impairments, such as memory (e.g., short-term and working memory), attention span, or problem solving skills. It is hypothesized that cognitive remediation will significantly improve peoples' employment outcomes in a supported employment program.