Improving Community Integration in Homeless Veterans With Serious Mental Illness: A Pilot Study of MI-CBT Enhanced With Mobile Technology
VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
This study aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of a brief behavioral intervention that combines two treatments, Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), that have been shown to work in prior research studies. The format of the intervention will be a combination of in-person sessions and remote elements delivered via mobile phone (together called MI-CBTech). The goal of the intervention is to improve community integration in Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) who have experienced homelessness. A time- and format-matched control arm will include remote mindfulness training. 50 Veterans with SMI experiencing homelessness will be randomized to one of the two arms (25 per arm).
Description
For Veterans experiencing homelessness, permanent housing is only the first step in achieving stability and improved quality of life. Even after attaining permanent housing, many Veterans continue to struggle with many aspects of functioning and day-to-day living. In addition, as Veterans move from temporary to permanent housing, they are at risk of falling out of mental healthcare and other VA services. One of the reasons this transition is so challenging is that in-person interventions, while well-suited for residential treatment programs, are less suitable for Veterans as they leave the VA…