Cognitive work hardening: a return-to-work intervention for people with depression

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Mental health in the workplace
• Rehabilitation psychology

Background:

• Rising mental health claims, especially depression, increase workplace disability costs and human suffering.
• Existing depression treatments lack specific interventions for return-to-work preparation.
• There is a growing trend towards non-clinical interventions for workplace return-to-work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Cognitive Work Hardening (CWH) as a novel intervention.
• To address the gap in return-to-work preparation for individuals with depression.
• To demonstrate how CWH can improve return-to-work success.

Main Methods:

• Adapting principles of classical work hardening (used for physical injuries) to the mental health domain.
• Applying the occupational therapy principle of occupation.
• Utilizing the core competency of enablement.
• Discussing key occupational therapist skills in CWH.

Main Results:

• Cognitive Work Hardening specifically targets functional issues associated with depression.
• The intervention leverages established occupational therapy principles.
• It aims to enhance the success rate of returning to work for individuals with depression.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive Work Hardening offers a structured approach to bridge the gap in return-to-work preparation for depression.
• It integrates occupational therapy principles to facilitate workplace reintegration.
• CWH represents a valuable non-clinical intervention within the broader context of workplace mental health recovery.