Work-Focused Social-Cognitive Skills Training for Veterans with Serious Mental Illness Assessing Acceptance and Feasibility Combined with Supported Employment

What this Trial Is About

Many individuals with serious mental illness, including Veterans with diagnoses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or PTSD, face challenges in interpreting social cues and engaging in work-related social interactions. This can lead to isolation, reduced productivity, and job loss. The study aims to adapt an existing social cognitive skills training program to better support Veterans in work settings, assess the acceptability of this adapted program, evaluate combining it with supported employment, and measure changes in functional outcomes such as quality of life and work relationships. The intervention, called Social Cognition and Interaction Training-Work Edition SCIT-WE, is a group-based skills training program offered weekly for 13 weeks during the job development and job search phases of supported employment. Participants attend 2-hour group sessions plus weekly individual homework review sessions with a facilitator, and practice skills with their employment specialist for 10-15 minutes weekly. After the group training, participants continue skill review during 10 sessions with their employment specialist over the following 3 months. The curriculum includes training on workplace social norms, emotion regulation at work, and communication styles tailored for Veterans. Participants will be evaluated at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months post-enrollment. Assessments include measures of treatment uptake, completion, satisfaction, retention in employment and training, quality of life, social adjustment, self-efficacy about returning to work, and work relationship quality. Exit interviews with participants and employment specialists will gather feedback to finalize the treatment manual. The study duration for each participant is approximately 6 months, during which researchers monitor functional improvements and the feasibility of integrating SCIT-WE with supported employment.

Acceptability and Feasibility of Work-Oriented Social-Cognitive Skills Training for Veterans With Serious Mental Illness