Cognitive Remediation Can Be Implemented in Large Systems of Psychiatric Care
New York, NY (May 3, 2018)—Cognitive remediation, an evidence-based, recovery-oriented behavioral intervention for patients with mental illness, can feasibly be implemented in large systems of care, according to researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
The findings were published online today, May 3, 2018, in CNS Spectrums.
Cognitive remediation, which targets the information processing skills that underlie thinking, is used to enhance cognitive skills so that people with serious mental illnesses function better in everyday life. There is increasing enthusiasm to provide cognitive remediation as an evidence-based practice, but relatively little is known about how to best implement it in mental health care systems. The exact steps of implementation remain a mystery to many stakeholders, making a process paper timely.
“This paper describes the work that has been done to implement cognitive remediation throughout New York State’s psychiatric hospital system, the first statewide implementation of this treatment in the USA,” noted lead author Alice Medalia, Ph.D., a research psychologist at New York State Psychiatric Institute and professor of medical psychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Our goal was to better understand the implementation issues which care providers are likely to face when bringing cognitive remediation services to their patients.”
In 2014, the researchers set up a Cognitive Health Service that could be offered to patients throughout the state-operated system of care. This service was intended to broadly address cognitive health, to assure that the cognitive deficits (such as problems with attention, memory, and processing speed) commonly associated with psychiatric illnesses are recognized and addressed, and to make sure that cognitive health is embedded in the vocabulary of wellness.
By 2017, New York State offered cognitive remediation to patients with serious mental illness at 13 of 16 adult psychiatric centers. The embedded quality assurance program evaluation tools indicated that cognitive remediation was sustainable and effective.
Along with hundreds of state licensed facilities, these adult psychiatric centers are an essential part of the New York State Office of Mental Health, which oversees the care of more than 700,000 patients annually in both urban and rural areas, including almost 20,000 unique adult patients. “To implement the service, we first needed to create a mechanism to train staff to recognize how cognitive health could be prioritized in treatment planning,” said Dr. Medalia.
The success of this project shows that cognitive remediation can feasibly be implemented in large systems of care. Dr. Medalia maintains that “the systems must provide a multi-level system of supports, a training program that educates broadly about cognitive health (and specifically about the delivery of cognitive remediation), and an embedded, ongoing program evaluation that is linked to staff supervision.”
The study is titled, “Cognitive Remediation in Large Systems of Psychiatric Care.”
The CR2PR initiative is funded by the New York State Office of Mental Health. The Pibly Fund provided partial support for data analysis and manuscript preparation.
The other contributors to this paper are Alice M. Saperstein, Ph.D. (New York State Office of Mental Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center), Matthew D. Erlich, M.D. (New York State Office of Mental Health and Columbia University Irving Medical Center), and Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D. (New York State Office of Mental Health and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health).
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Columbia University Department of Psychiatry
Columbia Psychiatry is among the top ranked psychiatry departments in the nation and has contributed greatly to the understanding and treatment of brain disorders. Co-located at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in Washington Heights, the department enjoys a rich and productive collaborative relationship with physicians in various disciplines at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Columbia Psychiatry is home to distinguished clinicians and researchers noted for their clinical and research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression, suicide, schizophrenia, bipolar and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and childhood psychiatric disorders.
Columbia University Department of Psychiatry/New York State Psychiatric Institute
New York State Psychiatric Institute was founded in 1896 and has been closely affiliated with the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry since 1925. NYSPI/Columbia Psychiatry is ranked among the best departments and psychiatric research facilities in the nation and has contributed greatly to the understanding of and current treatment for psychiatric disorders. It is home to distinguished clinicians and researchers noted for their clinical and research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression, suicide, schizophrenia, bipolar and anxiety disorders and childhood psychiatric disorders. Their combined expertise provides state of the art clinical care for patients, and training for the next generation of psychiatrists and psychiatric researchers.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Irving Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.