Emotional disorders in neurological rehabilitation

Depression, anxiety, emotionalism, irritability, and apathy are common findings in the neurological rehabilitation setting and are associated with poorer outcomes. This chapter outlines the importance of detecting and attending to these disorders. The authors recommend the systematic use of self-report measures, tailored for those with cognitive or motor difficulties, in combination with interview-based assessments where suspicion of the presence of a disorder is aroused. A stepped care scheme for coordinating rehabilitation services is presented which highlights the importance of training all staff to be aware of the possibility of patients presenting with emotional disorders and the need to equip all staff with the skills to make emotional enquiries and to carry out brief interventions where indicated. Interventions should be based upon a combination of watchful waiting and optimization of clinical care followed by evidence-based brief therapies such as problem solving, motivational interviewing, and behavioral activation. Antidepressant prescribing should be reserved for the more severe cases and protocols should involve a system for reviewing and time-limiting prescriptions. This chapter aims to aid those designing services to produce simple and widely understood programs that meet the needs of this inherently heterogeneous client base.