Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences
Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Lauren McKnight, M.A. is a Research Fellow at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. After earning her Master’s in Psychology from New York University, Lauren began direct service work with marginalized populations experiencing mental health challenges, substance use, homelessness, incarceration history, and chronic health conditions. As a research fellow, Lauren works on various projects in capacities including intervention development and implementation, data collection and monitoring, and project management.

Dr. Rogers is a Research Professor at the Center where she had been conducting research in the mental health and disability fields for many years. Dr. Rogers has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator of a variety of research studies focused on the recovery, vocational success, and well-being of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. She began a post-doctoral program at the Center and continues as Co-Principal Investigator of the fellowship award.

Dr. Rogers has written numerous journal articles and is a reviewer for several scholarly publications in the field. She has developed instruments currently in use in the field (such as the Empowerment Scale) and is a licensed psychologist in the state of Massachusetts. Dr. Rogers is also a Research Professor at Boston University, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She is the recipient of the Loeb Research Award from the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Association and has been named a 2015 Dincin Fellow by the Association as well.

Sally Rogers served as the Executive Director of the Center from 2016 until 2021.

Areas of Expertise

  • Researching the effectiveness and psychiatric rehabilitation, vocational, and mental health interventions
  • Measuring outcomes and developing instrumentation
  • Assisting psychosocial rehabilitation programs to evaluate the effectiveness of their services
  • Researching the effectiveness and psychiatric rehabilitation, vocational, and mental health interventions
  • Measuring outcomes and developing instrumentation
  • Assisting psychosocial rehabilitation programs to evaluate the effectiveness of their services

Peer-Reviewed Articles since 2001

Millner, U.C., Woods, T., Furlong-Norman, K., Rogers, E.S., Rice, D., & Russinova, Z. (2019). Socially valued roles, self-determination and community participation among individuals with serious mental illness. American Journal of Community Psychology.

Rogers, E. S. (2019). Recovery-oriented practices need innovative research. Invited commentary. The Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30476-0 

Maru, M., Rogers, E.S., Hutchinson, D., & Shappell, H. (2018). An integrated supported employment and education model: Exploratory study of an innovative approach designed to better meet the needs of young adults with psychiatric conditions.  Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 45(3), 489-498.  DOI 10.1007/s11414-018-9595.

Teixeira, C., Mueser, T., Rogers, E. S., McGurk, S. (2018). Job Endings and Work Trajectories in Persons Receiving Supported Employment and Cognitive Remediation. Psychiatric Services, 69,812–818. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700489

Balogun-Mwangi, O., Rogers, E. S., Maru, M., Magee, C. (2017). Vocational Peer Support: Results of a qualitative study. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.

Rogers. E. S. & Swarbrick, P. (2016). Co-Editors and Editorial for a Special Issue of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal entitled: Peer Delivered Services: Current Trends and Innovations, 39(1).

Rogers, E. S., Maru, M., Johnson, G., Cohee, J., Hinkel, J., & Hashemi, L. (2016). A randomized trial of individual peer support for adults with psychiatric disabilities undergoing civil commitment.  Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 39(3), 248-255.

Gordon, C., Gidugu, V., Rogers, E.S., DeRonck, J., & Zeidonis, D. (2016). Adapting Open Dialogue for Early-Onset Psychosis into the US Healthcare Environment: a Feasibility Study. Psychiatric Services, 67(11), 1166-1168.

Rogers, E. S., Maru, M., Kash-MacDonald, M., Archer-Williams, M., Hashemi, L., & Boardman, J. (2016). A randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of a healthcare access model for individuals with severe psychiatric disabilities, Community Mental Health Journal, 52(6), 667-74.

Cronise, R., Teixeira, C., Rogers, E. S., & Harrington, S. (2016). The peer support workforce: Results of a national survey. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 39(3), 211-221.

Teixeira, C., Santos, E., Abreu, M.V., & Rogers, E.S. (2015). Current status of psychiatric rehabilitation in Portugal: A national survey. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 38, 263-7. Epub doi: 10.1037/prj0000144.

Millner, U. C., Rogers, E. S., B, P., Costa, W. Pritchett, S., & Woods, T. (2015). Exploring the work lives of adults with serious mental illness from a vocational psychology perspective. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(4), 642-654.

Fang-Hang Chang, F. Helfrich, C., Coster, W., & Rogers, E. S. (2015). Factors associated with community participation among individuals who have experienced homelessness, International Journal of Environmental Research in Public Health, 12(9), 11364-11378;  doi:10.3390/ijerph120911364).

Marfeo, E., Eisen, S., Ni, P., Rasch, E., Rogers E.S, & Jette A. (2015). Do claimants over-report behavioral health dysfunction when filing for work disability benefits? Work, 51(2):187-94. PMID: 24594538.

Rogers, E. S., Russinova, Z., Maru, M., Restrepo-Toro, M., Cook, K. F., Rogers, J. D. (2015). Assessing Recovery-Promoting competencies of providers serving Latinos with serious mental illnesses. Journal of Latino Psychology, 3(4), 239-257.

Teixeira, C., Santos, E., Abreu, M.V., & Rogers, E.S. (2015). Current status of psychiatric rehabilitation in Portugal: A national survey. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 38, 263-7. Epub doi: 10.1037/prj0000144.

Gidugu, V. Rogers, E. S., Harrington, S., Maru, M., Johnson, G., Cohee, J., Hinkel, J. (2015). Individual Peer Support: A Qualitative Study of Mechanisms of its Effectiveness, Community Mental Health Journal, 51, 445-452.

Chan, D., Helfrich, C., Hursh, N, Gopal, S., & Rogers, E. (2014). Measuring community integration using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and participatory mapping for people who were once homeless. Health & Place, 27, 92-101.

Johnson, G., Magee, C., Maru, M., Norman, K., Rogers, E.S., & Thompson, K. (2014). The personal and societal benefits of providing peer support: a survey of peer support specialists. Psychiatric Services, 65, 678-680.

Anthony, W., Ellison, M., Rogers, E. S. Mizock, L., & Lyass, A. (2013). Implementing and evaluating goal setting in a statewide psychiatric rehabilitation program. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. First published on October 11, 2013 as doi: 10.1177/0034355213505226.

Ellison, M. L., Rogers, E. S., Lyass, A., Massaro, J., Wewiorski, N., & Anthony, W. (2011). Statewide initiative of Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation: Outcomes and Relationship to Other Mental Health Service Use. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 35, 9-19.

Mesidor, M., Gidugu, V., Rogers, E., & Boardman, J. (2011). A qualitative study: Barriers and facilitators to health care access for individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 34, 285-294.

Russinova, Z., Ellison, M., Rogers, E. S., Lyass, A. (2011). Recovery-promoting professional competencies: Perspectives of mental health consumers, consumer-providers and providers.  Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 34(3)177-185.

Rogers, E. S., Ralph, R. & Salzer, M. (2010). Validating the Empowerment Scale with a multi-site sample of consumers of mental health services. Psychiatric Services, 61(9), 933-939.

Dunn, E., Wewiorski, N., & Rogers, E. S. (2010). A qualitative investigation of individual and contextual factors associated with vocational recovery among people with serious mental illness. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(2), 185-194.

Schutt, R. & Rogers, E. S. (2009). Empowerment and peer support: Structure and process of self-help in a consumer run center for individuals with mental illness. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(6), 697-710.

Dunn, E., Rogers, E. S., Hutchinson, D., Lyass, A., MacDonald-Wilson, K., Wallace, L. & Norman, K. (2008). Results of an innovative university-based recovery education program for adults with psychiatric disabilities. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 35(5), 357-369.

Dunn, E. C., Wewiorski, N. J. & Rogers, E. S. (2008). The meaning and importance of employment to people in recovery from serious mental illness: Results of a qualitative study. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 32(1), 59-62.

McCorkle, B., Rogers, E. S., Dunn, E. Lyass, A., & Wan, Y. (2008). Increasing social support for individuals with serious mental illness:  Results of an evaluation of a social, adjunctive intervention. Community Mental Health Journal, 44: 359-366.

Ellison, M., Russinova, Z., Lyass, A., & Rogers, E. S. (2008). Professionals and managers with severe mental illness: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 196(3), 179-189.

Rogers, E. S., Teague, Ph.D., Lichtenstein, C, Campbell, J, Lyass, A. Chen, R., & Banks, S. (2007). The effects of participation in adjunctive consumer-operated programs on both personal and organizationally mediated empowerment: Results of a multi-site study. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 44(6), 785-800.

Hutchinson, D., Anthony, W.A., Massaro, J., & Rogers, E. S. (2007). Evaluation of a combined supported education and employment computer training program for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 30, 189-197.

Hutchinson, D. S., Anthony, W., Ashcraft, L., Johnson, G., Dunn, E., Lyass, A., & Rogers, E. S. (2006). The personal and vocational impact of training and employing people with psychiatric disabilities as providers. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 29(3), 205-213.

Rogers, E., Anthony, W., & Lyass, A. (2006). A randomized clinical trial of psychiatric vocational rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 49(3), 143-156.

Rogers, E., Anthony, W., & Farkas, M. (2006). The Choose-Get-Keep Approach to Psychiatric rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology. 51(3), 247-256.

Rogers, E. S., Anthony, W. A., & Lyass, A. (2004). The nature and dimensions of social support among individuals with severe mental illnesses. Community Mental Health Journal,40(5), 437-451.

MacDonald-Wilson, K.L., Rogers, E.S., Ellison, M.L., & Lyass, A. (2003).  A study of the Social Security Work Incentives and their relation to motivation to work among persons with serious mental illnesses.  Rehabilitation Psychology, 48(4), 301-309.

Tsemberis, S., Rogers, E. S., Rodis, E., Eisenberg, R., Dushuttle, P., Skryha, V. (2003). Housing satisfaction for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Journal of Community Psychology, 31(6), 581-590.

Anthony. W., Rogers, E.S., & Farkas, M. (2003). Research on evidence-based practices: Future directions in an era of recovery. Community Mental Health Journal, 39(2), 101-114.

MacDonald-Wilson, K. L., Rogers, E. S., & Massaro, J. (2003). Identifying functional limitations in work for people with psychiatric disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation,18,15-24.

Russinova, Z., Wewiorski, N., Lyass, A., Rogers, E.S., & Massaro, J. (2002). Correlates of vocational recovery for persons with schizophrenia.  International Journal of Psychiatry, 14, 303-311.

Mac-Donald-Wilson, K., Rogers, E. S., Massaro, J., Lyass, A. & Crean, T. (2002). An investigation of reasonable workplace accommodations for people with psychiatric disabilities: Quantitative findings from a multi-site study.  Community Mental Health Journal, 38(1), 35-50.

MacDonald-Wilson, K.L., Rogers, E.S. & Anthony, W.A. (2001). Unique issues in assessing work functioning among individuals with psychiatric disabilities.  Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 11(3), 217-232.

Books and Book Chapters

Rogers, E. S. & Delman, J. (2014). Research, Evaluation, and Evidence Based Practices. In P. Nemec & K. Furlong-Norman [Eds.]: Best Practices in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. McLean, VA: Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association.

Schultz, I & Rogers, E. S., (Eds.) (2010). Handbook of Job Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health. New York: Springer.

Rogers, E. S. & MacDonald Wilson, K., (2010). Vocational capacity of individuals with mental health disabilities. In: Handbook of Job Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health.  I. Z. Schultz & E. S. Rogers, Eds. New York: Springer, pp.73-90.

Rogers, E. S., & Farkas, M. (2008). Making the Grade: Identification of evidence-based communication messages (Chapter 12). In: J. Parker and E. Thorson (Eds.) Health Communication in the New Media Landscape. London: Springer. Pp. 325-340.

Dr. Farkas is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Research and Training Center and Professor in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. She has authored and co-authored over 100 articles in professional journals, 4 textbooks, over 20 book chapters, and 7 multi-media training packages.

For more than 35 years, Dr. Farkas has worked in various capacities in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation, and recovery. Among her many roles providing training, research and consultation, Dr. Farkas was in charge of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, providing training, consultation and research expertise to the W.H.O. network, serving as the Vice President of the World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR) and President of the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (NARRTC). She has developed training, consultation and organizational change methodologies to support programs and integrative systems in their efforts to adopt psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery innovations around the globe. She is a Visiting Professor of Social Studies at Hanze University, Netherlands and Malmo University, Sweden and among other duties, was on a Research Advisory Committee at King’s College, London, England investigating methods facilitating the recovery of individuals with serious mental illnesses. Her past grant experiences have ranged from helping the core disciplines develop curriculum for pre-service programs in Nursing, Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Work to co-leading an effort to create standards of evidence for disability research and a process for translating the research into practice tools across disability fields. She has served on Training Committees and Committees on Serious Mental Illnesses in both APA’s (i.e. American Psychological and American Psychiatric Associations).

As an educator, Dr. Farkas received Boston University’s Award of Merit; as an expert in development and implementation of innovations, she received the International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services John Beard Award for innovations in the field; the Lifetime Achievement Award (NYAPRS) as well as the National Commendation Award from the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers for “pioneering scientific advances that have helped transform research on mental health and rehabilitation systems and being at the forefront of a paradigm shift that has helped practitioners, families, and society, as a whole, to see capacity and potential in people who were once perceived to be beyond hope.”

Areas of Expertise

  • Scaling up interventions/ large scale implementation
  • Transformation of mental health programs and systems to promote recovery across cultures and countries.
  • Identifying and assessing ingredients of recovery oriented mental health services.
  • Using Evidence Based Practice, Promising Practices in recovery oriented programs.
  • Developing and evaluating programs and services in recovery and psychiatric rehabilitation.
  • Training personnel at all levels, people with lived experience and families in recovery and psychiatric rehabilitation practices (in-service/pre-service).
  • Incorporating people with lived experience and their input into program and systems development.
  • Developing Personal Assistance Services for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
  • Developing academic programs and curricula in recovery and rehabilitation.
  • Knowledge Translation, bridging science to practice.

Selected Publications

Davidson, L., Bellamy, C., Chinman, M, Farkas, M., Ostrow, L., Cook, J., Jonikas, J. et al. (2018). Revisiting the Rationale and Evidence for Peer Support, Psychiatric Times, June 29, 35:6.

Farkas, M. (2018) Peer Delivered Services in Mental Health: Infancy or Adolescence? World Psychiatry, 17:2, June. 222-223.

Marrone, J., Farkas, M., Abramson (in press). All Change is Difficult, No Matter How Long You Put It Off: Policy and Making Mental Health Systems of Care “High Performers” in Employment Outcomes. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Chinman M, McInnis K, Eisen S, Ellison M, Farkas M, Armstrong M, Resnick S. (2017). Establishing a research agenda for understanding the role and impact of mental health peer specialists. Psychiatric Services, 68:9, September, 955-57.

Sanches, S.A., Swildens, W.E., Busschbach, J.T. van, Farkas, M. & Wel, T. van (2017). Fidelity of Rehabilitation (FiRe): evaluation of a fidelity measure to promote implementation of evidence-based rehabilitation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, (August).

Farkas, M., Anthony, W.A., Montenegro, R., Gayvoronskaya,E. (2016) Person Centered Psychiatric Rehabilitation. In J. Messich, M. Botbol, G. Christodolou, R.Cloninger & I. Salloum (eds) Person Centered Psychiatry. Switzerland: Springer International Pub., 277-291.

Lyman, R., Kurtz, M., Farkas, M., George, P., Dougherty, R., Daniels, A., Ghose, S., Delphn-Rittmon, M. ( 2014) , Skill Building: Assessing the Evidence. Psychiatric Services, 65, 6, 727-38.

Matthews, L., Farkas, M., Medway, M., Tayler, N. (2014). Psychiatric Disability, Recovery and Family. In Michael Millington & Irma Marini (eds). Families in Rehabilitation Counseling. A Community Approach. Springer. 131-152.

Slade, M., Amering, M., Farkas, M., Hamilton4, B., O’Hagan M.,Panther. G., Perkins, R., Shepherd, G., Tse, S., Whitley, R. (2014) Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery-oriented practices in mental health systems. World Psychiatry, 13(1), 12-20.

Farkas, M., Forbess, R. & Bradford, W. (2013) Recovery Facilitating Service Planning: An Interdisciplinary Responsibility. In K. Yeager, D. Cutler, D. Svendsen & G. Sills, (eds). Modern Community Mental Health Work: An Interdisciplinary Approach, New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Farkas, M. & Anthony, W.A. (2010). Psychiatric Rehabilitation Interventions: A Review. International Review of Psychiatry, April 2010; 22(2): 114–129

Farkas, M. (2007). The vision of recovery today: What it is and what it means for services. World Psychiatry 6:2, 1 – 7.

Selected Presentations

Chair, State of the Science Meeting. Future Research Needed on Employment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illnesses: Moving the Needle. Boston MA. Nov 7 2018.

Symposium Chair/Panelist. Supported Education: An overview. Symposium: Title: Community participation through education: Supported education for people with psychiatric disabilities. XIII WAPR Congress: Recovery, Citizenship, Human Rights –Reviewing Consensus. Madrid Spain. July 6 2018.

Invited Plenary Presentation. Participation of peers in mental health services – A critical recovery strategy: What have we learned? Associacao Brasileira de Saude Mental-ABRASME, 3rd Forum de Direitos Humanos e Saude Mental. Florianopolis Brazil. June 29 2017.

Invited presentation. Integrated Scaling Approach (ISA): A Model for Large Scale Implementation of Effective Interventions for Employment. NIDILRR/ACL Seminar. Washington DC. April 5 2017.

Invited Plenary. International Lessons Learned: From Deinstitutionalization to Recovery. 1st Abu Dhabi International Congress of WAPR – Mena Conference. Abu Dhabi. September 22 2017.

Invited Presentation. Vocational Recovery: More than just getting a job. Promens Care/GGZ Drenthe. Assen Netherlands. Nov 11 2016.

Symposium Presenter. Promoting Recovery: A Toolkit for Providers Symposium: Recovery: From Literature to Practice. PRA Workforce Summit. Philadelphia PA. June 2, 2015.

Chair, State of the Science Meeting: Disability Policy and Employment for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. Washington D.C. 2013.

Plenary Speaker “Choices: The challenge and foundation of recovery facilitating services and interventions.” Haifa University. 2013.

Presentation: “Peer Involvement in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Recovery.” Round Table on Good Practices and Psychosocial Rehabilitation, “Psychosocial Rehabilitation in an Economic Crisis: New Practices for Emerging Needs,” WAPR, Athens, Greece. 2012.

Presentation on “Infusing recovery principles and competencies into behavioral health agencies.” Policy Academy, BRSS-TACs, Reston, VA USA. 2012.

Plenary address: “Le Retablissement: Qu’est ce que ca change?” Institut Universitaire en santé mental de Quebec, Colloque, May, 2012.

“Workforce Competencies for a Recovery Oriented System.” The World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation, “RECOVERY – hva innebærer det for psykisk helsearbeid,” Bergen, Norway, June 2012.

Plenary Address: “Recovery e riabilitazione psichiatrica: a che punto ci troviamo?” Istituto di ricovero e cura a caracterre scientifico, Fatebenefratelli, San Giovanni di Dio, Brescia, Italy. 2012.

Chelsea Cobb, LMHC-MA Co-Directs the College Mental Health Educational Program, CMHEP at Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College at Boston University. She joined the Services Division at the Center team in 2017 and supervised the development of the Peer Mentor Intern (PMI) program. PMIs are graduates of the NITEO, who return to build their career readiness support and skills. Chelsea co-developed the Healthy Relationship curriculum, which addressing practice gaps in curriculum-based preventative interpersonal skills instruction and restorative justice learning for Title IV respondents. Chelsea expertise and interest include community building, program development, collegiate resilience and wellness and recovery. Chelsea now Co-directs the College Mental Health Educational Program, a robust offering of classes, activities, workshops and more for young adults seeking academic resilience, holistic support, and community connections. She also oversee the Flourishing Families  an educational program that supports parents, guardians, and caregivers of young adults who live with a mental health and/or substance use conditions.

Areas of Expertise

  • Program and curriculum design and implementation
  • Supervise staff and interns to cultivate and emphasize recovery based principles

Appointments to discuss programming can be scheduled here: https://calendly.com/clcobb

David Braverman is a Research Coordinator at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University and a co-Instructor in two music-oriented Recovery Education classes.