As part of the VA’s IPS program, an employment specialist worked with a larger team of clinicians and support staff to integrate mental and physical health treatment into the employment services of veterans experiencing homelessness. The employment specialist assessed participants’ vocational abilities and helped tailor an accelerated job search based on their strengths and preferences.

WCBT was delivered in two-hour group sessions, held twice weekly. Each group had two to seven participants. Sessions focused on psychoeducational topics related to work, cognitive restructuring, social skills education, and navigating work with a social anxiety disorder. Vocational services employees who had been trained in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders led the sessions, with two leaders per session. WCBT participants were eligible to receive 16 hours of WCBT over the course of four weeks.

Thresholds IPS involved an integrated treatment approach in which an employment specialist worked with a team of clinicians and support staff to combine treatment of clients’ underlying mental and physical health issues with employment services. The employment specialist created individualized job searches with clients that reflected their employment preferences and conducted an initial vocational assessment to guide an accelerated job search process.

TWE, part of the VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program, helped participants develop work restoration plans and provided a rehabilitative work setting within the VA, other federal agencies, or private businesses in the community. After their participation in TWE, participants moved into CE, during which they could receive standard VA services (including the VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance).

TWE, part of the VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program, helped participants develop work restoration plans and provided a rehabilitative work setting within the VA, other federal agencies, or private businesses in the community. After their participation in TWE, participants moved into CE, during which they could receive standard VA services (including the VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance).

CE participants were military veterans who found unsubsidized jobs in the competitive market on their own. They received the standard VA services, including VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance, but no specific employment-focused intervention. Veterans could receive the standard services indefinitely.