Results of Audiovisual Stimulation and Psychotherapy in Psychological Correction of Emotional Disorders in Patients in the Late Recovery Period after an Ischaemic Stroke: a Prospective Randomized Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Emotional and personality disorders that occur in patients after a stroke have a negative impact on the rehabilitation process, reducing its effectiveness, disrupting the motivation for treatment and quality of life. Today, comprehensive rehabilitation programs for patients in the late recovery period after acute cerebrovascular accident, aimed at psychological correction of emotional disorders, are becoming relevant.
 AIM. To study the effectiveness of audiovisual stimulation and techniques of rational-emotive and body-oriented psychotherapy on the emotional state of patients in the late recovery period after an ischaemic stroke.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study included 40 patients after an acute cerebrovascular accident (ACVA) in the late recovery period (from 6 months to 2 years after ACVA) aged between 45 and 75 years, average age 61.6 [53.95; 68.1]. The patients were randomized into two groups. The main group included patients (n = 20 people, of which 7 men, 13 women, age — 62.09 [53.5; 68.6] years), who underwent a complex basic rehabilitation program, including audiovisual stimulation and psychotherapy techniques; the control group included patients (n = 20, including 6 men, 14 women, age — 61.1 [54.4; 67.5] years) who underwent a basic rehabilitation program. For psychological diagnostics, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the author’s computer program were used to study the current emotional state. The statistical significance of differences before and after the treatment was determined using the nonparametric Wilcoxon test. To assess the statistical comparability of the two groups, the Mann-Whitney test was used (p 0.05).
 RESULTS. The use of audiovisual stimulation and techniques of rational-emotive and body-oriented psychotherapy in the psychological correction of emotional disorders in patients in the late recovery period after an ischemic stroke allows us to achieve a statistically significant effect in reducing state and trait anxiety, the level of chronic fatigue, as well as increasing the subjective comfort and quality of life (p 0.05).
 DISCUSSION. The study showed that patients in the late recovery period after a stroke before treatment experienced high levels of anxiety and depression and experienced a severe psycho-emotional stress. As a result of audiovisual stimulation and psychotherapy techniques, indicators of the negative emotional state of patients in the late recovery period after an ischemic stroke significantly decreased, mood improved, activity and tolerance to psychological stress increased.
 CONCLUSION. A comprehensive rehabilitation of patients in the late recovery period after a stroke, aimed at psychological correction of emotional disorders, significantly improved the emotional background, increased tolerance to psychological stress, and also contributed to increased motivation for restorative treatment and rehabilitation.