Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian1, Matcheri Keshavan1; 1Center for Early Detection, Assessment and Response to Risk (CEDAR), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School
Cognitive remediation approaches, especially those that are accompanied by intensive psychosocial rehabilitation, have shown promise for improving cognition and functional outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia. The movement of the field towards earlier detection and treatment of those at risk for psychosis has prompted questions about whether these approaches, when applied to youth at risk for psychosis, may have the capacity to reduce or prevent cognitive decline and associated functional disability. One approach that has shown promise for improving cognition and functioning in individuals with schizophrenia is cognitive enhancement therapy (CET), which is an intensive, individualized program that combines drill and practice cognitive training with group based skills training for enhancing neuro and social cognitive functioning. CET has been associated with improved cognition and role functioning in clients with chronic and early course schizophrenia. This talk will describe a modification of CET aimed for youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. This program, named CLUES (Cognition for Learning and for Understanding Everyday Social Situations), has been modified to meet the unique developmental needs of a younger population of individuals at CHR. An overview of CLUES will be provided and data from an initial feasibility and small RCT will be shared and discussed.
