Emotional Recovery Post-Stroke

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether adding an emotional wellness component to occupational therapy (OT) and/or speech therapy (ST) telerehabilitation improves overall emotional well-being and activity participation for people with stroke.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether adding an emotional wellness component to occupational therapy (OT) and/or speech therapy (ST) telerehabilitation improves overall emotional well-being and activity participation for people with stroke. Participants will complete 9 telerehabilitation therapy sessions over 8 weeks. These sessions will take place over a video visit using a personal device (phone, tablet, or computer). Each session will last about 1 hour. Sessions will focus on occupational therapy and/or speech therapy depending on the participant's stroke-related movement and/or language deficits. Each study participant will be randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups. Both groups will include OT or ST; however, one group will include an emotional wellness component using a modified version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Participants will also complete 2 assessment visits, one before the telerehabilitation begins and one after the telerehabilitation program ends. The assessment visits will also take place via a video visit using a personal device. Assessments include measures of emotional well-being, quality of life, activity engagement, arm/hand movement, communication/language skills, balance, and ability to perform daily activities.