"Doing the Best I Can": Qualitative Outcomes and Participant Feedback From a Combined Communication and Counselling Treatment for Primary Progressive Aphasia.
Kristin Schaffer Mendez, William S Evans, Christina D Dutcher and 4 others
PMID 41622565WHAT IT FOUND
People with primary progressive aphasia described combining speech therapy with counselling as acceptable.
They reported using learned coping strategies to manage distressing thoughts and feelings about their diagnosis.
Key findings
01Participants described using coping strategies learned in therapy to manage thoughts and feelings associated with their condition.
02Participants reported satisfaction with the combined speech-language and counselling treatment program.
03Some participants noted that the treatment required a significant investment of time and posed logistical challenges for those with busy schedules.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only nine participants, which limits the breadth of themes identified. The intervention combined speech-language treatment with counselling, so the specific contribution of the counselling component cannot be isolated. The study was a pilot and feasibility trial, not an efficacy trial, so it does not demonstrate that the treatment causes positive outcomes. Participants were monolingual English speakers from the US or Canada, which may limit generalizability to other cultural or linguistic groups. Transcripts and findings were not returned to participants for verification, which is a common step in qualitative research to ensure accuracy.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation. All authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the post-treatment themes of acceptance and gratitude as evidence that the counselling component caused these changes. The study was a single-group pilot with no control condition, and the intervention included both speech-language treatment and counselling simultaneously.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →