How do speech language therapists in New Zealand perceive the psychological impact of communication difficulties?

Help‐seeking and people with aphasia who have mood problems after stroke: perspectives of speech–language pathologists

“…Prior research in the area has also identified that whilst SLPs provide a range of services to promote psychological well‐being in people with aphasia, their scope of practice is often unclear (Gibson and Purdy , Northcott et al . , , Sekhon et al .…”

Current Australian speech-language pathology practice in addressing psychological well-being in people with aphasia after stroke

“…However, the use of counselling skills for addressing emotional and psychological well-being in PWA are underspecified. Most SLPs working with PWA, believe that psychological and social dimensions are important and essential to achieve positive rehabilitation outcomes (including QOL) (Brumfitt, 2006;Brown et al, 2011;Gibson & Purdy, 2012) and report practicing counselling frequently (Rose, Ferguson, Power, Togher, & Worrall, 2014). However, SLPs report feeling uncomfortable and unskilled in counselling (Brown et al, 2011;Brumfitt, 2006;Gibson & Purdy, 2012, Rose et al, 2014.…”

Practitioners' Perspectives on Quality of Life in Aphasia Rehabilitation in Denmark

“…Practitioners felt unprepared by their initial education for practising in QoL in aphasia and had limited confidence in using QoL measures, similar to other studies in this field [13,20]. Clinicians appreciated some exploration of QoL during their qualifying education; however, the majority viewed QoL as the remit of post-qualification training and further clinical experience.…”

“…There was clear recognition from SLTs in this study of the importance and centrality of QoL in practice, and this accords with the high value generally placed on QoL and psychosocial issues by aphasia clinicians worldwide [14,15,20]. Clinicians dedicated time to exploring it with clients and relatives to direct treatment, but remained concerned about the measurement of it, whose responsibility it is within the stroke team, time and timing issues, and the perceived lack of value placed on QoL by rehabilitation funders, and in some instances also from the clients themselves.…”

“…Although no specific QoL instruments were reported, clinicians did report using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) [16], the Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire (SADQ) [17], the Communication Disability Profile (CDP) [18], and the Visual Analogue Self-Esteem Scale (VASES) [19]. In New Zealand, Gibson and Purdy [20] found that SLTs also rated psychosocial aspects highly in management, but additionally that the majority of clinicians felt unqualified and unprepared to manage these in practice. Simmons-Mackie et al [21] investigated outcome assessment practices of aphasia clinicians from the United States and found that of the 336 measures and methods reported as used, only 4 measures pertained to QoL.…”