Treating problem-solving deficits on an acute care psychiatric inpatient unit

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuropsychology
• Cognitive Rehabilitation

Background:

• Neuropsychological deficits in problem-solving are prevalent in schizophrenia and severe affective disorders.
• These deficits can hinder patient recovery in acute care settings.
• Current treatments often overlook problem-solving remediation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of brief problem-solving remediation for acutely ill psychiatric inpatients.
• To determine if targeted intervention improves cognitive function and coping abilities.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-eight inpatients with verbal problem-solving deficits received 6 hours of either problem-solving remediation or placebo instruction.
• Assessments included nurse ratings of psychiatric status, verbal/nonverbal problem-solving tests, and self-reported symptom coping.

Main Results:

• Patients receiving problem-solving remediation showed significantly greater improvement in verbal problem-solving compared to placebo.
• Both groups improved symptomatically, but remediation group demonstrated superior gains in coping ability.
• Nurses rated the remediation group as having greater psychiatric and coping skill improvement.

Conclusions:

• Verbal problem-solving deficits are amenable to short-term remediation in acute psychiatric care.
• This targeted intervention shows potential to generalize, improving patients' ability to cope with psychiatric symptoms.
• Problem-solving remediation represents a valuable addition to acute psychiatric treatment strategies.