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

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

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MSER w/ Shannon Blajeski, PhD, MSW (Sep. 25th, 2025) – Critical Elements of Using Virtual Reality Job Interviewing in IPS Supported Employment

September 2, 2025

“Sep 25, 2025 12:00 PM Eastern Time The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation is pleased to present “Making Sense of Employment Research”, a webinar series designed to discuss a recently published research study, in a clear and relevant way, even for those who know little or nothing about research. Presentation: “Critical Elements of Using Virtual Reality Job Interviewing in IPS Supported Employment” with Shannon Blajeski, PhD, MSW. In 2020-2021 researchers from the University of Michigan School of Social Work interviewed IPS staff across several Illinois communities who had used Virtual Reality-Job Interviewing Training (VR-JIT) in their work with clients receiving IPS. This presentation will describe the feasibility of using VR-JIT as an additional “tool” in IPS, particularly with clients who were seeking jobs but not yet comfortable going to job interviews, as well as learn about the changes that IPS staff saw in clients who used VR-JIT. Please join us in this presentation about VR-JIT as an important tool for improving job interviewing confidence for those receiving IPS services. Dr. Blajeski is a mental health intervention researcher who is interested in improving career and income pathways for young adults with early psychosis to prevent the often-intractable poverty associated with long-term dependence on disability benefits. Her research is situated at the crux of her lengthy clinical social work experiences in behavioral health settings and her scholarly training in Social Welfare, and she brings an additional ten years of experience with the implantation of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model to her work. Dr. Blajeski is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Portland State University and collaborator with the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Additionally, she has active research partnerships with Michigan NAVIGATE and the Oregon Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA) Center for Excellence.”

Register here.

Notice: This event is funded under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTEM0011).  NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  This event and associated content (e.g, recordings, transcriptions) do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

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