A comparison of two psychosocial interventions for parents of children with acquired brain injury: An exploratory study

Parents of children with acquired brain injury experience severe stress. Many experience periods of emotional distress related to their child's injury and its sequelae. This study compared two kinds of support groups for parents of children with sequelae of severe brain injury. One group participated in a psychoeducational stress management program that emphasized instruction in coping skills and group discussions of coping efforts. The program included regular homework assignments, practice exercises, and follow-up discussions of the use of skills. The second group was an informational support group. Parents identified topics that they wanted to discuss and were also encouraged to share their feelings with group members. The impact of the two groups was measured with standardized self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Parents in the stress management group experienced significant reductions in depressive and anxious symptoms. Parents in the informational and sharing group, as a group, showed increases in depressive and anxious symptoms.