Trial to investigate the effect of behaviour therapy to treat low mood in people with aphasia after stroke

Many people who have communication impairments after stroke (called aphasia or dysphasia) will have low mood. Despite this, studies to evaluate psychological treatments for low mood have excluded people with aphasia.

We plan to evaluate whether a psychological treatment called behaviour therapy will improve mood in people with aphasia. Behaviour therapy aims to improve mood by increasing the amount of time people spend doing things they enjoy.

To evaluate behaviour therapy we will divide people into two groups at random. Half of the people will receive behaviour therapy from a psychologist, and half of the people will not be visited by the psychologist. Three months and six months after people joined the study they will be visited by a researcher to assess their mood and activity level.

If behaviour therapy is found to be effective then it can be recommended as a treatment for low mood in people with aphasia after a stroke.

Scientific title: Communication and Low Mood (CALM) study: a randomised controlled trial of behaviour therapy to treat low mood in people with aphasia after stroke

Classification:
Rehabilitation, Clinical Psychology

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