Implementing Action-Based Cognitive Remediation for Transdiagnostic Cognitive Difficulties in a Tertiary Mental Health Hospital

Implementing Action-Based Cognitive Remediation for Transdiagnostic Cognitive Difficulties in a Tertiary Mental Health Hospital

Psychiatric conditions are each defined by different set of symptoms, however, they often share common characteristics such as impairments in cognitive and social functioning. These impairments can cause significant distress and disrupt daily functioning by preventing individuals from actively participating in school or work, maintaining healthy relationships with others, and engaging in everyday activities independently. The goal of this clinical trial is to examine if action-based cognitive remediation (ABCR) therapy, a type of cognitive training program, works to treat cognitive impairments in participants with psychiatric disorders.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Whether the intervention will improve the thinking skills of participants with different types of psychiatric conditions
• Whether the intervention will improve social skills and work performance
• Can this program be easily used in a regular hospital, and do the people who take part in it find it helpful and worth their time
• Whether the improvements from the intervention last for a long time after the training is over.

Researchers will compare how much the thinking skills of participants change during an 8-week waiting period (where they get no treatment) to how much they change during the 8-week training program to see if the training makes a bigger difference in helping them think and live better.

Participants will :

• Complete a series of questionnaires on memory, thinking skills, and mental health at the beginning of the study
• Wait 8 weeks without any intervention or training
• Complete the series of questionnaires again
• Complete an 8-week training intervention of ABCR where they will use special computer programs to practice real-life skills and tasks like planning a meal or making an appointment
• Complete the series of questionnaires and an additional structured interview to assess acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.
• 3 month later, complete questionnaires for a final time.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must have been given a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder (such as mood anxiety, psychotic disorders, etc.
• Participants must have reported subjective cognitive difficulties associated with their psychiatric disorder
• Participants must be capable of providing informed consent
• Participants must have the ability to speak and read in either English or French
• Participants must have no changes to their medication intake (such as starting or stopping medication or changing doses) within the past month before providing consent for participation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants will be excluded if they are hospitalized at the time of recruitment
• Participants will be excluded if they have a confirmed diagnosis of an intellectual disability