Establishing 'proof of concept' for a social cognition group treatment program (SIFT IT) after traumatic brain injury: two case studies

SIFT IT: A feasibility and preliminary efficacy randomized controlled trial of a social cognition group treatment programme for people with acquired brain injury

Making sense of social situations requires social cognitive skills, which can be impaired after acquired brain injury (ABI), yet few evidence-based treatment options are available. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-faceted social cognition group treatment programme, SIFT IT, for people after ABI using an RCT design. Twenty-eight participants were recruited, and 23 were randomized into either Treatment or Waitlist. SIFT IT consisted of 14 weekly 90-minute small group sessions facilitated by a Clinical Psychologist. Topics included: emotion self-awareness, emotion perception, perspective taking, and choosing adaptive social responses. Preliminary efficacy outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up. Demand for treatment was evident with 61% recruitment and 91% post-treatment retention rates, with 63% attending at least 13/14 sessions. Large between-group treatment effects (with non-zero 95% confidence intervals) were observed for emotion perception, detecting hints, and informant ratings of social cognitive deficits. Implementation challenges recruiting to groups and maintaining group allocation fidelity, with a small sample size does, however, raise questions about the appropriateness of an RCT design in a future efficacy trial. Overall, this study showed there is demand for social cognitive interventions after ABI and the SIFT IT programme was practicable and acceptable to participants.Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry identifier: ACTRN12617000405314.

Ethical issues in clinical neuropsychology: International diversity perspectives

OBJECTIVE

Much of the information about the ethical practice of clinical neuropsychology has focused on North America. Additionally, of the scholarly publications on the intersection of ethical issues and cultural diversity practices in neuropsychology, most have focused on North America. The extent to which practitioners in other parts of the world are aware of, and find useful, such information is largely unknown. Similarly, the extent to which North American neuropsychologists are familiar with ethical issues and challenges encountered around the world is unknown. The purpose of this article is to advance the discussion of ethical issues in clinical neuropsychology from an international diversity perspective.

METHOD

The article presents, via a panel interview format, the thoughts and experiences of a small sample of neuropsychologists who represent all continents except North America (and Antarctica).

RESULTS

Neuropsychologists across continents share an ethical commitment to providing services that are beneficial, and not harmful, to the recipients of the services. Professional competence is at the heart of such services.

CONCLUSIONS

Through continued and expanded dialogue about ethical issues with neuropsychology colleagues around the world, the potential exists for improvement in the provision of effective and compassionate care in our own towns.

Effectiveness of training in expressing positive emotions, reacting to change and greeting peers after childhood traumatic brain injury: a single-case experimental study

Background

Social cognitive deficits are common after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The participant in this single-case experimental design (SCED) was 7 years old when he sustained a severe TBI. After 2 years in rehabilitation, he continues to show deficits in social cognition.

Objective

To determine the effectiveness of three interventions, each aimed at improving a behavior altered by social cognition deficits. These behaviors were: (1) expression of positive emotions, (2) reacting to changes in plans, and (3) greeting classmates.

Method

An A-B-A' design was used for each behavior. In addition, each behavior was targeted with a rehabilitation program applied over 10 sessions.

Results

For the first behavior, changes between phases B-A' (NAP = 0.712) and A-A' (NAP = 0.864) indicated improvements in the child's ability to express positive emotions. In the second behavior, changes in the intensity of reactions between phases B and A' (NAP = 0.815) and A vs. A' (NAP = 0.834) indicated that the child adapted to changes in a plan and to unexpected situations in a more adaptive way. For the third behavior, changes in the number of greetings between phases A and B (NAP = 0.883) and A vs. A' (NAP = 0.844) suggested that during the third phase of the study, the participant fully acquired the habit of greeting peers and increased his interactions with others.

Conclusion

While the participant showed improvements in all three targeted behaviors, due to the complexity of the third behavior, it is recommended that in future research, the intervention targeting social interactions should be applied over a longer timeframe to ensure that improvements are more stable in the long term.

Calling on clinicians to get social and emotional

OBJECTIVE

Disorders of social cognition, such as difficulties with emotion perception, alexithymia, Theory of Mind (ToM), empathy and disorders of emotion regulation, are prevalent and pervasive problems across many neurological, neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions. Clinicians are familiar with how these difficulties present but assessment and treatment has lagged behind other traditional cognitive domains, such as memory, language and executive functioning.

METHOD

In this paper, we review the prevalence and degree of impairment associated with disorders of social cognition and emotion regulation across a range of clinical conditions, with particular emphasis on their relationship to cognitive deficits and also real-world functioning. We reported effects sizes from published meta-analyses for a range of clinical disorders and also review test usage and available tests.

RESULTS

In general, many clinical conditions are associated with impairments in social cognition and emotion regulation. Effect sizes range from small to very large and are comparable to effect sizes for impairments in nonsocial cognition. Socio-emotional impairments are also associated with social and adaptive functioning. In reviewing prior research, it is apparent that the standardized assessment of social cognition, in particular, is not routine in clinical practice. This is despite the fact that there are a range of tools available and accruing evidence for the efficacy of interventions for social cognitive impairments.

CONCLUSION

We are using this information to urge and call for clinicians to factor social cognition into their clinical assessments and treatment planning, as to provide rigorous, holistic and comprehensive person-centred care.

INCOG 2.0 Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part IV: Cognitive-Communication and Social Cognition Disorders

INTRODUCTION

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury causes significant cognitive impairments, including impairments in social cognition, the ability to recognize others' emotions, and infer others' thoughts. These cognitive impairments can have profound negative effects on communication functions, resulting in a cognitive-communication disorder. Cognitive-communication disorders can significantly limit a person's ability to socialize, work, and study, and thus are critical targets for intervention. This article presents the updated INCOG 2.0 recommendations for management of cognitive-communication disorders. As social cognition is central to cognitive-communication disorders, this update includes interventions for social cognition.

METHODS

An expert panel of clinicians/researchers reviewed evidence published since 2014 and developed updated recommendations for interventions for cognitive-communication and social cognition disorders, a decision-making algorithm tool, and an audit tool for review of clinical practice.

RESULTS

Since INCOG 2014, there has been significant growth in cognitive-communication interventions and emergence of social cognition rehabilitation research. INCOG 2.0 has 9 recommendations, including 5 updated INCOG 2014 recommendations, and 4 new recommendations addressing cultural competence training, group interventions, telerehabilitation, and management of social cognition disorders. Cognitive-communication disorders should be individualized, goal- and outcome-oriented, and appropriate to the context in which the person lives and incorporate social communication and communication partner training. Group therapy and telerehabilitation are recommended to improve social communication. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) should be offered to the person with severe communication disability and their communication partners should also be trained to interact using AAC. Social cognition should be assessed and treated, with a focus on personally relevant contexts and outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The INCOG 2.0 recommendations reflect new evidence for treatment of cognitive-communication disorders, particularly social interactions, communication partner training, group treatments to improve social communication, and telehealth delivery. Evidence is emerging for the rehabilitation of social cognition; however, the impact on participation outcomes needs further research.

Sociocognitive Functioning and Psychosocial Burden in Patients with Brain Tumors

Simple Summary

After years of gauging the efficacy of tumor-directed therapies primarily by means of survival, a broader perspective on therapeutic outcome also focusses on patients’ everyday functional abilities. Besides neurocognition, a matter of high clinical relevance, “social cognition” may also affect well-being and quality of life (QoL) in brain tumor patients. Abilities that enable individuals to establish and maintain social relationships are summarized under the umbrella term “sociocognitive functioning”. These abilities encompass the understanding and sharing of emotional and mental states of other individuals as well as skills to detect and resolve interpersonal problems. These sociocognitive abilities may be challenged in highly demanding life situations such as brain tumor diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, we summarize the literature on psychosocial burden and sociocognitive functioning in adult brain tumor patients.

Abstract

Brain tumors may represent devastating diseases and neuro-oncological research in the past solely focused on development of better treatments to achieve disease control. The efficacy of tumor-directed treatment was evaluated by progression-free and overall survival. However, as neuro-oncological treatment became more effective, preservation and improvement of quality of life (QoL) was noticed to represent an important additional outcome measure. The need to balance between aggressive tumor-directed treatment and preservation of QoL was increasingly acknowledged in brain tumor patients. QoL is comprised by many determinants; one of those may have been rather neglected so far: social cognition. Since diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors represent demanding life situations, patients may experience increased psychosocial burden and the negative consequences of illness on well-being may be buffered by intact social relationships. These skills to build and maintain supportive social relationships essentially depend on the ability to empathize with others and to recognize and appropriately address social conflicts, i.e., “sociocognitive functioning”. Therefore, sociocognitive functions may influence QoL and treatment outcome. In this article, we review the literature on psychosocial burden and sociocognitive functioning in adult brain tumor patients.

Emotion recognition and theory of mind after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery: A systematic review

In order to navigate in our complex social world successfully, it is crucial to maintain and practice cognitive skills that are dedicated to adaptive social functioning. Emerging evidence suggests that besides deficits in declarative memory, executive functions, and language, impairments in social cognition (SC, e.g., emotion recognition, theory of mind) are also present in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The organic and psycho-social consequences of epilepsy surgery might have additional implications regarding this deficit. Here we qualitatively synthesize longitudinal and cross-sectional findings on SC after TLE surgery. A literature search using PubMed and Scopus identified 275 potential articles. Studies were eligible if they (1) included patients with a diagnosis of TLE, (2) included a healthy comparison group, (3) reported original research, (4) were published in peer-reviewed journals and in English language, (5) reported the intervention of epilepsy surgery. Articles that (1) were case studies, (2) did not focus on SC abilities, (3) used interviews or self-report questionnaires to examine SC functions were excluded. A total of 16 original studies assessing emotion recognition (ER) and/or theory of mind (ToM) matched our criteria. The literature suggests that neither ER nor ToM abilities change after surgery: post-surgery patients show similar impairment patterns to pre-surgery patients. Nevertheless, individual improvement or decline could be masked by group comparisons and results should be considered in light of methodological heterogeneity among studies.