A cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) programme for anxiety following moderate–severe traumatic brain injury (TBI): Two case studies

Abstract

Background: CBT is a potentially effective treatment for anxiety disorders following TBI; however, empirical evidence has mainly come from clients with mild TBI. This paper describes a CBT-based anxiety treatment programme adapted for clients with more severe injuries. Two case studies are provided to illustrate the implementation of the programme, as a step toward larger scale testing of the programme's feasibility.

Methods and procedures: A manualised adapted CBT treatment manual was used to deliver CBT in a standardised manner to two clients, one with severe and one with moderate TBI. Outcome was evaluated using a single-subject design with repeated measures of anxiety, mood and coping style at pre- and post-CBT.

Results: The two clients demonstrated positive treatment response on either a measure of anxiety or a continuous measure of distress. Although neither demonstrated a clinically significant change according to the primary outcome measure (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), they showed significant change in at least one corroborated measure of anxiety.

Conclusions: This study suggests the potential utility of the adapted CBT programme for clients with moderate–severe TBI. Limitations of the single case studies were discussed, while noting how they would be addressed in a follow-up randomised controlled trial.

• Anxiety
• cognitive behaviour therapy
• psychiatric disorders
• psychological treatment
• traumatic brain injury

Notes

1. Pseudonyms were used and identifying information was anonymised.