RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Although numerous evidence-based treatments for serious mental illnesses (SMI) exist, the majority are not widely utilized in clinical settings. Cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) has been tested in randomized trials; however, knowledge regarding implementation and outcomes in naturalistic environments is scarce. AIMS: The current study is an uncontrolled, observational study describing implementation and pre- to post-outcomes of CETCleveland®, a community-based version of CET in an outpatient mental health program in the United States. METHOD: We included n = 34 diverse individuals with SMI. Data include qualitative implementation information and participant outcomes, including measures of cognition, symptoms, satisfaction and adherence. RESULTS: Overall, participant satisfaction was positive, and adherence was comparable with previous studies. Implementation information includes training, clinician and setting characteristics, and barriers and solutions. Preliminary outcomes showed that participants significantly improved in areas of neurocognition and symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results demonstrated successful early implementation of CET in a diverse, outpatient mental health program and provided preliminary support for the clinical utilization of CET. We hope these results will promote further access to CET and other evidence-based psychiatric rehabilitation programs in community clinics.
