Dr Anthony Harris
Westmead Clinical School
University of Sydney
Mental Health Research Grant 2011 and 2012
Dr Anthony Harris is an Associate Professor in the Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, a senior staff specialist psychiatrist for the Prevention Early Intervention and Recovery Service in the Sydney West Area Mental Health Service and the Director of the Clinical Disorders Unit at the Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Hospital.
After graduating from the University of Sydney, Dr Harris completed training as a psychiatrist in Sydney. He then worked as a consultant in the area of psychogeriatrics in the United Kingdom before completing research work at the Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit in Mannheim, Germany in the field of psychophysiology. On return to Australia he worked in clinical and administrative positions in the Wentworth and Sydney West Area Mental Health Services in Sydney before specialising in the field of early intervention in psychosis. He completed a PhD in the area of psychophysiology in schizophrenia in 2003. His research has concentrated on the psychophysiology of schizophrenia and depression, imaging studies and treatment, particularly cognitive remediation in schizophrenia.
Dr Harris has also helped restructure the teaching program in psychiatry at the Sydney Medical School and has conducted research into the application of novel teaching programs.
He is presently on the Management Committee of the Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales and a member of the Board of the Research Trust Fund of the Fellowship.
SUMMARY OF PROJECT:
Does cognitive remediation improve employment prospects for people with a mental illness returning to work?
This study aims to help people with a mental illness get back to work successfully. Unemployment and subsequent poverty and welfare dependence are major problems for people with a severe mental illness. Efforts to break this cycle using interventions such as supported employment have improved the chance of a person with a severe mental illness obtaining and keeping a job. However the majority of people with severe mental illness are still unemployed. An important predictor of poor functioning for people with severe mental illness is the cognitive functioning of the person, that is how well they can concentrate, remember or plan.
This study will employ computer assisted cognitive remediation, an approach that has been demonstrated to improve cognitive function in severe mental illness, to improve cognitive functioning and then test to see if this intervention improves overall employment outcomes when combined with a supported employment program. This study will be conducted in a community based setting in cooperation with the Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales, a non-government organisation that is operating 8 supported employment centres through regional and metropolitan areas in New South Wales, thus making this study an important demonstration of effectiveness of psychosocial treatment in community care.