Shaping Procedures as Cognitive Retraining Techniques in Individuals with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness

Abstract

Many persons with schizophrenia are characterized by cognitive impairments that interfere with their ability to benefit from traditional rehabilitation interventions, including some forms of cognitive rehabilitation. To date, shaping procedures, a form of social-learning based intervention, have demonstrated effectiveness in several reports in improving the attention spans and lengths of continuous work performance among people severely impaired by schizophrenia. Despite this encouraging data, shaping as a form of cognitive rehabilitation remains underutilized. In this paper, we review the conceptual foundations for shaping, the rationale for the use of shaping as a form of cognitive rehabilitation, and future tasks necessary to refine this intervention.