Psychosocial aspects of aphasia: speech and language therapists' views on professional practice

Although the psychosocial dimensions of aphasia are relatively well understood, there may be variations in how these effects are managed in routine intervention. Speech and language therapists may hold a variety of views about this dimension of the aphasic experience, and these views may play a role in how intervention is managed.Aims. To survey practitioner views on the pertinence of psychosocial dimensions in the management of the aphasia speaker.

Five hundred and twenty-one speech and language therapists who were members of the British Aphasiology Society were surveyed by questionnaire about their views on the importance and role of psychosocial effects (response rate to questionnaire, 33%). The questionnaire was composed of (i) background details of the participants' work context; (ii) attitude towards preparation for working in this area; (iii) attitude towards the importance of psychosocial effects in the management of aphasia; (iv) perceptions of clinical time devoted to this aspect of management; (v) attitude towards the rated importance of specific dimensions of psychosocial effects; (vi) details of methods used; (vii) an open question asking for further comments.

Overall, strong agreement was shown about the importance of this aspect of aphasia intervention. Participants who believed that psychosocial aspects were important to overall management of the client also believed that these factors were important to the outcome of the intervention. Quality of life (QOL) was found to be an important dimension in psychosocial function, and premorbid experiences were perceived as affecting the outcome of interventions. A range of methods for working on psychosocial functions were reported. Concerns about managing service delivery in this area were expressed, with variations in reported time spent on this type of intervention.

For this population of participants, the psychosocial dimensions were reported as important to management and outcome from intervention. Although variations in views and reported practice were evident, there were a range of responses, which showed a majority view, and these form the basis of key questions to be examined in further studies.