Outcomes Following Neuropsychological Intervention in Acquired Brain Injury Outpatients With Executive Dysfunction

This Clinical Trial is a pilot study being conducted to study the impact of a specific cognitive rehabilitation program, Goal Management Training (GMT), in adult patients with executive dysfunction and associated problems in everyday functioning. The intervention program will also include relaxation training and psychoeducation regarding brain injury on everyday functioning, emotional status, and executive functioning. Goal Management Training focuses on teaching individuals strategies to compensate for executive functioning deficits and is based on a theory of goal neglect resulting in disorganized behavior following frontal lobe injury. It emphasizes strategies for self-monitoring and self-evaluation in everyday life. Given its goal-oriented emphasis, focus on individual everyday difficulties, and reports of improvements in self-reported executive failures and mood, GMT appears to be an ideal intervention treatment for individuals with executive and functional deficits. Given the emphasis of goal-oriented rehabilitation on reducing the impact of cognitive impairment on daily functioning, rather than attempting to restore cognitive abilities, a reduction in subjective reports of psychological distress is anticipated. This hypothesis is consistent with existing literature revealing reduced reports of annoyance and executive difficulties on self-report inventories. Improvements on tests of sustained attention and visuospatial problem-solving, as well as small effects on additional measures of planning, are also anticipated.