Effects of the Indianapolis Vocational Intervention Program (IVIP) on defeatist beliefs, work motivation, and work outcomes in serious mental illness

Defeatist beliefs and amotivation are prominent obstacles in vocational rehabilitation for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI). The CBT-based Indianapolis Vocational Intervention Program (IVIP) was specifically designed to reduce defeatist beliefs related to work functioning. In the current study, we examined the impact of IVIP on defeatist beliefs and motivation for work, hypothesizing that IVIP would be associated with a reduction in defeatist beliefs and greater motivation for work. We also examined the effects of IVIP on these variables as well as work outcomes during a 12-month follow-up. Participants with SMI (n=64) enrolled in a four-month work therapy program were randomized to IVIP or a support therapy group (SG). Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-treatment (4months), and follow-up (1year). Compared to those in SG condition, individuals randomized to IVIP condition reported greater reductions in defeatist beliefs and greater motivation for work at follow-up, along with greater supported employment retention rates. Specifically treating and targeting negative expectations for work therapy improves outcomes, even once active supports of the IVIP program and work therapy are withdrawn

Neurocognitive and social cognitive correlates of formal thought disorder in schizophrenia patients

The neurocognitive and social cognitive correlates of two types of formal thought disorder (i.e., bizarre-idiosyncratic and concrete thinking) were examined in 47 stable outpatients with schizophrenia. Both types of thinking disturbance were related to impairments in verbal learning, intrusions in verbal memory, immediate auditory memory, sustained attention, and social schema knowledge. Distractibility during an immediate memory task was associated with more frequent bizarre verbalizations but not concreteness. Impaired verbal learning rate and intrusions in verbal memory independently contributed to the prediction of bizarre responses, whereas intrusions in verbal memory and impaired immediate memory independently contributed to concrete thinking. This pattern of findings is consistent with the view that neurocognitive and, possibly, social cognitive deficits underlie these two aspects of formal thinking disturbance in schizophrenia