Social communication following traumatic brain injury part 2: Identifying effective treatment ingredients

• Published in: International journal of speech language pathology 2019-03, Vol.21 (2), p.128-142
• Main Authors: Meulenbroek, Peter, Ness, Bryan, Lemoncello, Rik, Byom, Lindsey, MacDonald, Sheila, O'Neil-Pirozzi, Therese M., Moore Sohlberg, McKay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain - physiopathology; Brain damage; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - diagnosis; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - physiopathology; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - psychology; Brain Injuries, Traumatic - therapy; Case studies; Cognition; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Communication; Communication disorders; Humans; Patient Education as Topic; pragmatics; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychotherapy, Group; Social Behavior; Social communication; Social Communication Disorder - diagnosis; Social Communication Disorder - physiopathology; Social Communication Disorder - psychology; Social Communication Disorder - therapy; Speech-language pathologists; speech-language pathology; Speech-Language Pathology - methods; Therapy; Traumatic brain injury; treatment; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1754-9507; 1754-9515
• DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2019.1583281

Purpose: Social communication deficits are a severely debilitating aspect of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and there is strong clinical and research interest in how social communication interventions work for this population. Informed by a companion paper targeting assessment of social communication impairments post-TBI, this paper reviews relevant treatment theories and provides an inventory of social communication treatment components. Method: We completed a mapping review examining 17 articles from recent literature reviews and 4 updated articles from a literature search to identify treatment targets and ingredients using the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS). Result: Social communication interventions are primarily based on behavioural and cognitive treatment theories. Common social communication treatment targets include changing skilled behaviours and cognitive or affective representations. We offer a menu of therapeutic ingredients and treatment considerations which represent the current state of social communication interventions. Conclusion: By reviewing the social communication intervention literature through a theoretical lens, we identify which treatment targets are missing, which targets are being addressed, and which therapeutic ingredients (i.e. clinician activities) are recommended. A hypothetical case study is provided as a supplement to demonstrate how speech-language pathologists may integrate treatment theory, ingredients, and targets into clinical practice.