This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Michelle Woodbury about stroke rehabilitation and emotional support. Dr. Woodbury is a Professor and Occupational Therapist in the College of Health Professions at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Research is underway in South Carolina to make emotional support more available to survivors of stroke. Doctor Michelle Woodbury is here to talk about the details. Doctor Woodbury is a Professor and occupational therapist in the College of Health Professions at MUSC. Doctor Woodbury, we know that occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy are all important parts of a stroke rehab program. Why do you believe emotional support is beneficial at that time as well?
Dr. Woodbury: Over half of stroke survivors report anxiety symptoms, including feelings of worry, uneasiness, fear or dread. And depression is diagnosed in about a third of stroke survivors and about a quarter of care partners. And, in stroke survivors who have aphasia, which is a language impairment, over half of those survivors will be diagnosed with depression or anxiety. These symptoms are associated with increased dependance in daily activities and reduced quality of life. But unfortunately, most stroke survivors who need emotional support do not get it. About two thirds of folks who go through stroke rehabilitation programs feel that their emotional needs went unmet.
Conner: Tell us about the research that you and your team are doing related to emotional support after a stroke.
Dr. Woodbury: We are motivated by daily contact with stroke survivors, who routinely report disabling, emotional health challenges and the inability to find support, and that fuels our passion. And we have created an interprofessional partnership between psychology, occupational therapy and speech therapy to design and test an emotional, support centered cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for stroke survivors who have and do not have aphasia. And aphasia is a language impairment, the inability to communicate, reading, writing and speaking.
Conner: And tell us about using cognitive behavioral therapy specifically for stroke survivors.
Dr. Woodbury: Yeah, so cognitive behavioral therapy is a common evidence based psychological intervention that can be implemented by rehab therapists, like occupational therapists or speech therapists. And so our intervention embeds cognitive behavioral therapy into one-on-one sessions with an OT or a speech therapist. And these sessions are delivered via tele rehabilitation. And during these sessions, the therapist and the patient work together to understand the very close link between someone's mood and their ability to engage in meaningful and valued daily activities. And then the therapy is focused on increasing engagement in meaningful valued activities to reduce anxiety symptoms.
Conner: And where is this research headed next?
Dr. Woodbury: So, what we've already started implementing is an eight-week virtual group program. And this virtual group program or curriculum is led by a young stroke survivor who's also an occupational therapist. And during these groups, people build on these CBT skills that they're learning in the one-on-one therapy and really support each other in getting back to daily activities, because staying engaged is so closely tied to mood.
Conner: Doctor Woodbury, thanks for talking with us about emotional support for stroke survivors.
Dr. Woodbury: Thank you for having me.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
