Goal Setting in Psychiatric Rehabilitation

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DESCRIPTION I joined the Indianapolis VA HSR&D Center of Excellence as a Research Health Scientist in the beginning of 2009. My research training included a Ph.D. in clinical rehabilitation psychology from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Following completion of my degree, I have trained with several federally-funded researchers with the ACT Center of Indiana, IUPUI, and the VA. Research Interests: My primary research interest is goal setting in psychiatric rehabilitation services for veterans with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia). Related areas of interest are implementation research and measurement of program fidelity. Relevance: Goal setting, defined as establishing the desired outcome for treatment, is central to rehabilitation practice. Goal setting interventions have been shown to increase participation in treatment and increase patient autonomy. Regarding patient participation, missed appointments are a sizable problem in the VA system, accounting for millions of dollars of lost productivity and limiting access to veterans needing services. Goal setting has also been shown to increase motivation and lead to increased goal-related performance. A better understanding of goal setting in treatment planning could lead to more efficient and effective mental health services for veterans. Objectives: The overall goal of this CDA-2 is to prepare me to become an independent VA researcher with expertise in the neuro-cognitive processes underlying goal setting and measurement construction and validation. The proposed research aims to construct, validate, and apply measures of goal constructs in a psychiatric rehabilitation setting. Specific aims for this research include: " Develop a reliable and valid tools to assess goal constructs in veterans receiving services for severe mental illness. " Use the developed methods to assess the relationship between goal constructs and success in a vocational rehabilitation setting. Study Design: I propose two related projects: 1) A longitudinal study of the psychometric properties of a goal construct assessment battery and 2) A longitudinal study of goal setting in vocational rehabilitation and vocational success. Significance: Despite the promise of better outcomes and increased participation in treatment, goal setting interventions in rehabilitation have produced mixed results. Past research has failed to measure constructs which have proven critical in effecting the relationship between goal setting and performance. This proposal will lead to the creation and validation of an assessment battery for goal constructs. This battery will serve as a center-piece of subsequent Merit Review proposals on critical factors in psychiatric rehabilitation goal setting and the creation of a goal setting protocol.