Fostering Adjustment to Acquired Brain Injury by Psychotherapeutic Interventions: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

This preliminary study investigates the effectiveness of a treatment program in which neuropsychological interventions are supplemented by psychotherapeutic interventions to foster the adjustment process. Eleven patients who had an adjustment disorder following an acquired brain injury were recruited for the treatment group. Measures were assessed at the beginning and end using the Structured Clinical Interview, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Goal Attainment Scaling procedure, and the Trier Coping Scales. Significant pre- to post-assessment differences emerged in terms of depression and coping styles. The findings suggest that patients benefit from an integrated treatment program to foster adjustment. These findings encourage further investigation of this integrative treatment in larger samples through randomized controlled trials with adequate control treatments.

Key words:

• adjustment
• brain injury
• depression
• neurorehabilitation
• psychotherapy

Notes

Note. GCS = Glasgow Coma Scale; NIHSS = National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; DSM-IV-TR = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (American Psychological Association, 2000).

Note. BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; TSK = Trier Skalen zur Krankheitsbewältigung [Trier Coping Scales].

Wilcoxon's, two-tailed: ns = non-significant.

∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .01. ∗∗∗p < .001.