November 05, 2024
Thursday, November 21, 2024 | 4 – 5:30 p.m. ET
Register today for the next NAMI Ask the Expert Cognition Series!
This webinar focuses on the importance of cognitive functioning to getting and keeping employment in people with serious mental illness (SMI), and clinical methods for improving cognitive abilities, or cognitive remediation. A description of the core components of cognitive remediation will be provided, as well as the current understanding of how these programs improve cognition.
One specific program will be highlighted, the Thinking Skills for Work (TSW) program, which is an evidence-based cognitive remediation program integrated with vocational rehabilitation that has been shown to improve cognitive functioning and competitive work outcomes compared to vocational services alone.
Practical cognitive self-management strategies for improving cognition in everyday life that can be taught and practiced without computers will be reviewed, with examples of their use drawn from participants in the TSW program.
Reserve your spot today! We welcome your participation and invite you to submit questions for our guest expert through the webinar registration form.
Our Guest Expert
Susan R. McGurk, PhD
Professor, Boston University Departments of Occupational Therapy, and Psychological and Brain Sciences, Director, Cognitive Initiatives, the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
Susan R. McGurk, PhD, is a Professor in the Departments of Occupational Therapy (primary appointment) and Psychological and Brain Sciences, and the Director of Cognitive Remediation Initiatives at the Center of Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. She is a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist whose multi-faceted research program examines the role of cognitive functioning in employment, academic pursuits, and independent living in persons with serious mental illnesses (SMI), and methods and mechanisms of cognitive remediation aimed at improving cognitive abilities and community functioning in this population. Over 20 years ago Dr. McGurk and colleagues developed the Thinking Skills for Work (TSW) program, a comprehensive cognitive remediation intervention designed to enhance cognitive functioning and improve competitive work outcomes in persons receiving supported employment or other vocational rehabilitation services. Her work is supported by the Biobehavioral Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute for Disability and Independent Living Research and Rehabilitation (NIDILRR), New York State Office of Mental Health, and the Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies-New York Work Exchange. She has received the Gerard Hogarty Award for Excellence in Schizophrenia Research and was recognized by the National Rehabilitation Association with the Rehabilitation Practitioner of Distinction Award.