A new study is calling out for people with a TBI to help understand the benefits of group therapy.
MAPLES (Mood, Activity Participation, and Leisure Engagement Satisfaction) is a University of Cambridge study looking at whether two different sorts of therapeutic groups have benefits for people who have suffered a brain injury.
A brain injury can affect activity levels, including socialising, leisure activities and gardening.
There may be many different reasons for activity levels to drop, such as increased physical problems and tiredness, reduced enthusiasm, and problems getting to where the activity will take place. Not everybody has decreases in activity level after a brain injury.
However, this may be important because a brain injury increases the chance that people will experience low mood and taking part in meaningful, useful and enjoyable activities can be helpful in maintaining a good mood.
The aims of this study are to look at two possible ways of increasing activities.
The researchers hope that these groups will be of benefit to some people who have had a brain injury, but do not yet have enough evidence on this.
The study is being run by the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, part of the University of Cambridge.
If you have had an acquired brain injury more than three months ago, are over the age of 18, and are able to speak and understand English, you may be able to take part.
If you agree to take part, you will be invited to be part of one of two types of groups that will meet once a week for eight weeks with each meeting lasting between one-and-a-half and two hours.
If you take part online, the groups will be run using videoconferencing software.
The two groups are the Activity Engagement Group, which focuses on the group working together to complete activities such as building things, solving puzzles, art and discussion, and the Activity Planning Group, which focuses on skills of planning activities to be completed outside of the group during everyday life.
Each person chooses the activities that they are going to plan. The study will look at feasibility (how well the groups work in practice) and acceptability (do people see the groups as useful and enjoyable) of the groups and whether either makes a difference to activity levels and mood.
More details are available here: https://studies.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/publix/424/4086/start?srid=29218
