This training program is designed to train investigators in the basic skills needed to conduct clinical research with individuals who have schizophrenia or major affective disorders. The program emphasizes four major research domains that are consistent with the research directions of the participating faculty: (1) psychosocial factors in the course and outcome of schizophrenia and major affective disorders and their relevance to treatment response, (2) neurocognitive and psychophysiological deficits in patients with schizophrenia and major affective disorders and in their relatives and the contributions of these deficits to functional impairment, psychiatric symptoms, and rehabilitative response, (3) improved psychological rehabilitative interventions for schizophrenia and major affective disorders, and (4) improved psychopharmacological interventions for schizophrenia and major affective disorders. The program has four components: (1) skill training in the systematic assessment of symptoms and functional outcome in these severe mental illnesses, (2) participation in an ongoing weekly core research seminar, (3) development by trainees of an individual research project supervised by program mentors, and (4) academic course work. There are two related training programs, one for predoctoral trainees who are students admitted to the Ph.D. program in psychology at UCLA and a second for postdoctoral trainees. The latter program is available to persons who have received a Ph.D. in psychology or an M.D. followed by a psychiatric residency. Typically, half of the postdoctoral trainees are Ph.D.'s and half are M.D.'s. Trainees are assigned to primary and secondary mentors who supervise their training activities.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 46 publications
