VISN 1 MIRECC Staff: Nancy J. Wewiorski, Ph.D.
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Nancy J. Wewiorski, Ph.D.
Dr. Nancy Wewiorski is a social work researcher, clinician, and administrator whose primary professional interest has been disenfranchised and marginalized populations, particularly adults with psychiatric disabilities. She has been involved in psychiatric rehabilitation research for 20 years and also has over 15 years of experience directing a community-based, recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation center. She has had academic appointments as Assistant Research Professor at Sargent College at Boston University and as Adjunct Faculty at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. Her expertise in research and evaluation includes both qualitative and quantitative methodologies as well as longitudinal studies and meta-analysis. Dr. Wewiorski completed a NIDRR-funded post-doctoral research fellowship and subsequently worked as a researcher at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University where much of her work focused on the process of recovery from serious mental illnesses (SMI). Her past work includes directing a multi-site study on family homelessness, directing several federally funded NIDRR research grants focused on recovery, and providing research consultation on qualitative components of a NIDRR study about workplace reasonable accommodations. She also has contributed to studies focused on the promotion of person-centered care in VA nursing homes (CLCs). Dr. Wewiorski currently works at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts where she is an Investigator with the VISN 1 New England MIRECC and is also affiliated with two other research centers, Social and Community Reintegration Research (SoCRR) and Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR). Her most recent work has focused on supported employment for Veterans with SMI. She is the Principal Investigator on a study examining the use of motivational interviewing techniques for facilitating entry into supported employment by Veterans with SMI and also on a study examining the effectiveness of supported employment for preventing job loss among Veterans with SMI. She is the author of numerous papers on the topics of employment and recovery among people with psychiatric disabilities and has presented on these and related topics at several national conferences. Dr. Wewiorski has been a peer reviewer for Mental Health Services Research, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, and Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. She is also is a member of the oversight committee for the Transformation Center which provides state-funded certified peer specialist training in Massachusetts.
