Modified Acceptance and Commitment Psychotherapy in Complex Treatment of Comorbidity of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

The objective: approbation of the effectiveness of modified Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in a complex treatment of patients with comorbidity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Materials and methods. 329 veterans from three clinical groups: individuals with PTSD (n=109), with mild TBI (n=112) and with comorbid PTSD + TBI (n=108), underwent a course of combined therapy lasting 8 weeks: in addition to standard therapy, they received psychotherapeutic intervention (psychoeducation with elements of motivational interviewing and acceptance and commitment therapy for PTSD) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The evaluation of the effectiveness of the treatment, in addition to a comprehensive psychodiagnostic examination before and after the therapy, included the Quality of Life Assessment Scale (O. Chaban). Results. Based on the obtained data, we can assume that representatives of the PTSD group, who initially evaluated the quality of social aspects of their lives more negatively, after the therapy looked more positively at the emotionally colored spheres of life (sex and mood). At the same time, after the therapy, the feeling of satisfaction with life was more positively assessed by those patients who were more satisfied with their life conditions before the therapy, and a higher assessment of the quality of life after the therapy was observed in those patients who, even before the therapy, had a higher level of satisfaction with your sex life. Summarizing the obtained data, it can be asserted that as a result of the therapy, the best results in the direction of increasing self-esteem of the quality of life were achieved precisely in relation to patients with PTSD/TBI. Conclusions. Complex treatment of patients with comorbid PTSD and TBI using modified acceptance and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in combination of standard treatment and tDCS is a promising individual treatment methodology in this patient population.