Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Delivered Live on the Internet to Individuals Suffering from Mental Fatigue After an Acquired Brain Injury

Abstract

An acquired brain injury often leads to long-lasting mental fatigue, which can have a considerable effect on work and social interactions. Fortunately, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has been found to alleviate mental fatigue. The purpose of this feasibility study was to evaluate the success of an interactive MBSR program delivered live online to individuals who have experienced a traumatic brain injury or stroke. We included the following three groups in our study: an Internet group, a face-to-face MBSR group, and an active control group who took weekly walks in natural environments. Thirty-four participants completed the study, and all were suffering from long-lasting mental fatigue after either a traumatic brain injury (16 participants) or a stroke (18 participants). However, seven did not accept to attend an Internet MBSR, and Internet was the only choice for others. We found that, according to the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS), the program leads to significantly reduced mental fatigue in the Internet group compared with the face-to-face and the control group. Individuals in the MBSR groups also exhibited an improved ability to process two temporally close targets (attentional blink task), while this was not detected in the control group. In conclusion, we believe that it is possible for individuals suffering from mental fatigue after an acquired brain injury to obtain positive results through enrollment in a live, interactive, online MBSR program. This is promising, as the Internet is accessible to many individuals, irrespective of where they live. Further randomized control studies comparing are warranted.

Train 4 Good - an eight-month mindfulness program live on Internet for long-term mental fatigue and emotional distress after an acquired brain injury

“…After the MBSR program, the rating on the SCS short form was improved, together with alleviation of mental fatigue, depression and anxiety, indicating a relationship between mental health and self-compassion (Johansson, Bjuhr, Karlsson, et al, 2015). However, there was a greater degree of improvement in self-compassion after the Train 4 Good program, indicating the possibility to improve self-compassion even further.…”

“…The process of inquiry is also a complex pedagogy since it is a competence the mindfulness teacher practices until it becomes an embodied quality that serves to aid participants in the integration of top-down and bottom-up neurological processes, proposed to be a primary change mechanism underlying the effectiveness of mindfulness based interventions (Khoury et al, 2017). Teaching MBSR online and live for patients suffering from mental fatigue after stroke or head trauma, we found it just as possible to incorporate inquiry in the teaching (Johansson, Bjuhr, Karlsson, et al, 2015). The internet platform used did not easily support group discussions.…”

“…The participants included in this study suffered from long-term mental fatigue after a TBI or stroke and had previously participated in a feasibility study evaluating whether an MBSR program could be successfully delivered live on Internet for people suffering from mental fatigue after a TBI or stroke (Johansson, Bjuhr, Karlsson, Karlsson, & Rönnbäck, 2015). They had participated either in a live on Internet MBSR or a face-to-face MBSR program.…”

“…All participants included in this study had finished an MBSR program one to three months before attending the Train 4 Good program (Johansson, Bjuhr, Karlsson, et al, 2015). In the Train 4 Good face-to-face group, 9 had previous experience from a face-to-face MBSR and 3 from MBSR live on Internet.…”

Teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Live Online to Individuals Suffering from Mental Fatigue - A Qualitative Evaluation

“…We conducted an initial screening of potential participants via a telephone conversation. Selected and interested participants were later interviewed by a neurologist and a neuropsychologist to ascertain their acquired brain injury, co-morbidity and medication and were also evaluated to determine mental fatigue with the Mental Fatigue Scale (Johansson & Rönnbä ck, 2014a), depression and anxiety with the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (Åsberg, Montgomery, Perris, Schalling, & Sedvall, 1978) and cognitive ability (Johansson, Bjuhr, Karlsson, Karlsson, & Rönnbä ck, 2015). The inclusion criteria were as follows: men and women between 20 and 65 years of age; had been employed prior to suffering a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI); had recovered from neurological and neuropsychological symptoms and suffering from pathological mental fatigue for at least 6 months before inclusion in the study.…”