COGNITIVE REMEDIATION OF PERSONS WITH SEVERE AND PERSISTENT MENTAL-ILLNESS

There is a vast psychiatric literature describing the nature and degre e of cognitive deficits present in persons suffering from severe and p ersistent mental illness, particularly schizophrenic spectrum disorder s. A smaller, more recent literature has emerged addressing non-pharma ceutical interventions developed to remediate those deficits. The Cogn itive Remediation Program was developed to remediate cognitive deficit s in such areas as the ability to sustain attention and concentration, memory processes, concept formation, organizing visual and auditory s timuli into recognizable patterns, and shifting cognitive sets. The pr ogram consists of three fifteen minute intervals or ''loops'' that eac h contain a different type of task designed to promote remediation of cognitive deficits. The Program also employs behavioral techniques, us ing a token economy to aid in shaping behavior and motivating patients . The loops consist of: 1) a group that focuses on training in attenti on, concentration and cognitive flexibility; 2) a computer group utili zing a combination of game software and programs designed for use with a head injured population; 3) a group promoting the generalization of skills learned in the Program to other social arenas. On a ten week p re- and post-measure, participants improved significantly on both a di gits forward and digits backward task, both measures of concentration and attention.