Spaced retrieval technique--a cognitive tool for social workers and their clients.

Social workers frequently work with clients who have cognitive deficits that impair their ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living and reduce their quality of life. Borrowing from the cognitive aging literature, the Spaced Retrieval Technique can be used by social workers to help their clients retain information needed for more autonomous functioning. This technique consists of recalling information over progressively longer periods of time until the information is successfully consolidated into long-term memory. The retained information may include adhering to medication regimens, keeping doctor's appointments, and remembering to pay bills. This technique is established and employed in early Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, and HIV. Implications for social work practice are posited.