Effects of group psychotherapy on anger management following acquired brain injury

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effects of an anger management group programme for patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) on self-reported anger and to identify specific effects of intervention components at different time-points.

Participants: Twenty-six participants with ABI were randomized, 24 started the programme and 19 completed it.

Design: A paired-randomization was held following the first baseline (T0) and a second baseline (T1) was held several weeks later. One group (n = 8) started with an 8-week anger management programme followed by a 4-week intervention focusing on the psychosocial impact of brain injury. This order was reversed in the other group (n = 11). Assessment was carried-out every 4 weeks (T1–T4) during the 12-week intervention period.

Main outcome measures: The Aggression Questionnaire-12, The State-Trait Anger and Expression Inventory-2 and The Multidimensional Anger Reaction Scale.

Results: Anger levels did not significantly change between T0 and T1, but decreased significantly at T4. Adaptive anger coping strategies also increased following intervention. Inwardly expressed anger decreased following the anger management programme compared to the psychosocial adjustment programme.

Conclusions: Group psychotherapy may improve parameters of anger management in patients with ABI. However, specific effects of different components of the anger management programme merit further investigation.

Keywords:

• Anger
• brain injury
• emotion regulation
• STAXI
• cognitive-behavioural therapy

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Adrian Guggisberg (MD) and Murielle Dunand-Ditisheim (MD) as well as neuropsychologists from their team (Carole Greber, Cristina Silva and Louis Nahum) for patient’s referral. They also thank Aurelie Manuel Stocker for her precious comments on the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

Study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant PMCDP1_151305 to TAB) and the fund for young investigators from the Geneva University Hospitals 595 (PRD_9_2013_II). The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.