Michael Drexler

Bio: Michael Drexler is an academic researcher from University of California, San Francisco. The author has contributed to research in topics: Lexical decision task & Health administration. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 3 publications receiving 65 citations. Previous affiliations of Michael Drexler include Alliant International University.

Violence in a U.S. Veterans Affairs healthcare system: worker perspectives on prevalence, causes, and contributors

Abstract: Worldwide, violence in healthcare settings is a common occurrence, causing stress, injury, and burnout among healthcare workers, and impacting their ability to provide safe, effective care for pati...

Behavioral threat assessment and management: Lessons learned in one VA health care system.

Abstract: This article describes how a VA health care system improved its approach to threat management by applying 10 “lessons learned.” Each lesson is presented with a brief description, including practical reforms put in place to reduce the risk of violence, aggression, and disruptive behavior. These reforms include the creation of a formal workplace violence prevention program, formalization of the threat assessment team’s incident review and response protocols, consistent use of an evidence-based threat assessment tool, and the diversification of the team to promote robust interdisciplinary discussions and greater stakeholder representation.

A meta-analysis of cognitive deficits in adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Abstract: This review identified 1275 studies examining cognitive deficits in people with schizophrenia, published between 1990 and 2003. Data from 113 studies (4365 patients and 3429 controls) were combined in a meta-analysis carried out on the five cognitive domains of IQ, memory, language, executive function, and attention. Studies were excluded where they lacked a suitable control group or failed to present complete information. In all five cognitive domains, analysis indicated a consistent trend for patients to perform more poorly than healthy controls, with significant heterogeneity across studies. Sources of heterogeneity were analyzed and a need to ensure more appropriate composition of patient and control groups and to adopt a more refined and methodologically correct, hypothesis-driven approach was identified.

A meta-analytic review of verbal fluency deficits in schizophrenia relative to other neurocognitive deficits.

Abstract: Introduction. A prominent view in the neuropsychological literature is that schizophrenia is particularly associated with executive dysfunction, yet in a meta-analytic review it was concluded that, relative to their general level of intellectual functioning, schizophrenics are not disproportionately impaired on a measure of this construct, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). However, verbal fluency tests may be more valid measures of executive functioning as they are more sensitive to the presence of focal frontal lobe injuries.Method. A meta-analysis was conducted on 84 studies comparing the performance of schizophrenics and healthy controls on tests of phonemic and semantic fluency, as well as other cognitive measures presumed to impose only minimal demands on executive functioning.Results. Neither phonemic or semantic fluency deficits qualified as differential deficits relative to general intelligence or psychomotor speed. Patients with schizophrenia were significantly more impaired on semantic rel...

Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Schizophrenia : Theory and Practice

Abstract: Could CRT provide the first structured method of alleviating cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia? Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Schizophrenia describes the background and development of this new psychological therapy and demonstrates how it provides the first structured help to overcome the thinking problems associated with schizophrenia. In three sections, the book covers the theoretical and empirical underpinning of cognitive remediation therapy and explores its application. Part I, 'The Development of Therapy', provides the historical context and theoretical background to the therapy and emphasizes the value of rehabilitating cognitive deficits. In Part II, 'Improving Cognitive Processes', the process and effects of changing cognition are examined. Finally, in Part III, 'The Process of Therapy', the authors provide a clinical guide to the delivery of cognitive remediation therapy and use case examples to support its efficacy. This book is the first to describe an individual cognitive remediation therapy programme based on a clear model of the relationship between thinking and behaviour. It will be of both academic and clinical value to all those health professionals and clinical academics who want not only to understand the relationships between thought and action but also to intervene to improve therapy.