A weekly group on bleak thoughts about work: more people in jobs later
MixedThe short version
After the work-thoughts group, drive to work was no higher than the support group's, but was higher eight months later.
- 64
- adults with schizophrenia not yet ready for jobs
- Randomised
- groups picked at random
- Self-rated
- people rated themselves
- 2 tools
- tested
The study
Who took part
64 adults aged 18 to 65 with schizophrenia or a related illness in New York, USA. Their doctors judged them not yet ready for a supported job.
What they did
Everyone did a paid work placement for 4 months. One group also met each week in groups of 2 or 3, for 16 sessions of 45 minutes. They worked on bleak thoughts about work, work problems, getting on with others and their strengths. The other group met for the same time to talk freely about work worries.
What happened
Drive to work was the same in both groups at the end of the placement. Eight months later it was higher in the work-thoughts group. A year after the start, 48 in 100 of that group had supported jobs, against 17 in 100 of the other. Staff also rated their work as better during the placement. Some of the paper's numbers don't add up, and part of the text is garbled. It also doesn't say how many people stayed in the study.
What the study found
- MixedMotivation
After the work-thoughts group, drive to work was no higher than the support group's, but was higher eight months later.
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Small randomised trial of 64 adults with schizophrenia not yet ready for jobs · vs a weekly group for open talk about work · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable
- HelpedGoals
48 in 100 in the work-thoughts group had supported jobs a year later, against 17 in 100 in the other.
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Small randomised trial of 64 adults with schizophrenia not yet ready for jobs · vs a weekly group for open talk about work · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable
- HelpedGoals
During the 4-month work placement, staff rated the work-thoughts group's work as better than the support group's.
- Action: Challenge unhelpful thoughtstested
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Small randomised trial of 64 adults with schizophrenia not yet ready for jobs · vs a weekly group for open talk about work · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable
How solid is this?
- Groups picked at random
- Small group
- People rated themselves
- Numbers unreliable
Source
Effects of the Indianapolis Vocational Intervention Program (IVIP) on defeatist beliefs, work motivation, and work outcomes in serious mental illness (2016)
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.10.036 (opens in a new tab)
