ABSTRACT

Objective

Social cognitive deficits are prevalent after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite this, few remediation studies exist. This study aimed to demonstrate ‘proof of concept’ for a novel group treatment that comprehensively targeted the core processes of social cognition.

Design

Pre-post case study with two participants, “Greg” and “Aaron”, living with severe TBI, with three assessment time points.

Method

Participants were screened at baseline to confirm social cognitive deficits: Greg exhibited difficulties with emotion perception and detecting hints; Aaron with detecting sarcasm and hints. Both reported everyday social problems. Participants then completed the 14-week group treatment program (SIFT IT). Feasibility and outcome measures were repeated post-group and at three-month follow-up.

Results

The study procedure was implemented with 100% assessment and 89% SIFT IT session attendance, albeit with a lack of proxy-report measures. Both participants described procedures as acceptable, although suggested more group participants could be beneficial. They both demonstrated reliable improvements (RCI > 1.96) on relevant social cognitive measures. Qualitative feedback corroborated findings: Greg reported generalization of therapeutic gains, Aaron reported increased self-awareness but nominal generalization.

Conclusion

Feasibility and limited efficacy outcomes established ‘proof of concept’ of SIFT IT. Findings will inform the study protocol for a larger randomized-controlled trial.

中文翻译：

---

为创伤性脑损伤后的社会认知团体治疗计划 (SIFT IT) 建立“概念证明”：两个案例研究

摘要

客观的

创伤性脑损伤 (TBI) 后普遍存在社会认知缺陷。尽管如此，很少有补救研究存在。本研究旨在展示一种新的集体治疗的“概念证明”，该治疗全面针对社会认知的核心过程。

设计

两名参与者“Greg”和“Aaron”的事后案例研究，他们患有严重的 TBI，三个评估时间点。

方法

在基线时对参与者进行筛选以确认社会认知缺陷：格雷格在情绪感知和检测提示方面表现出困难；Aaron 发现了讽刺和暗示。两人都报告了日常的社会问题。参与者随后完成了为期 14 周的团体治疗计划 (SIFT IT)。在组后和三个月的随访中重复了可行性和结果测量。

结果

尽管缺乏代理报告措施，但该研究程序以 100% 的评估和 89% 的 SIFT IT 会议出席率实施。两位参与者都将程序描述为可以接受的，尽管建议更多的小组参与者可能是有益的。他们都展示了相关社会认知测量的可靠改进（RCI > 1.96）。定性反馈证实了研究结果：Greg 报告了治疗收益的概括，Aaron 报告了自我意识的提高但名义上的概括。

结论

SIFT IT 的可行性和有限的疗效结果建立了“概念证明”。调查结果将为更大的随机对照试验的研究方案提供信息。