Use of Integrative Cognitive Rehabilitation Psychotherapy to Treat students in special education program with Brain Injury and Co-occurring Issues.

Research

Objectives: Assess the use of the integrative cognitive rehabilitation psychotherapy (ICRP) model to treat individuals with brain injury and co-occurring issues in special education program.

Design: Teach ICRP model to special education teachers and apply model to creating goals and objectives. Setting; Public school system special education program. Participants: 20 staff in public school special education program and students involved in the program. Interventions: Teach ICRP model to staff in public school special education program. Interventions: Train special education program staff on ICRP model and application to create goals and objectives that accommodate traditional interventions to cognitive issues. Main Outcome Measures: Outcome measures include materials created to apply ICRP model, number of cases model applied to and pre/post survey of staff on understanding and application of ICRP mode: School staff spent over 13 hours over four months learning and applying the ICRP model. Materials were created that provided an outline of the model and structure to create goals and objectives that integrative cognitive issues with co-occurring issues. Several students were used to apply the model. The school staff created an interdisciplinary team approach that incorporated the expertise of support staff.

Conclusions: Use of ICRP model in special education program requires in-depth training of model and application in setting and tracking goals and objectives over time as a team. Staff found applying cognitive rehabilitation element to traditional interventions helpful in understanding how best to make accommodations and to work on specific cognitive skills in an ordered manner. Author Disclosures: Mark Pedrotty is president of Brain and Body Rehabilitation Psychotherapy LLC and co-founder of Integrative Cognitive Rehabilitation Psychotherapy Institute