Enhancing Self-Efficacy for Caregivers of Family Members With Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) may result in physical deficits that require assistance from others in order to stay healthy and live independently in a community. The assistance provided by caregivers to a family member with SCI often involves a wide range of activities from helping with basic activities, like toileting and bathing, to managing more complex tasks, such as keeping up with household finances, shopping, and transportation. Caregiving puts demands on an individual's ability to cope and deal with day-to-day stresses, and may be influenced by personal beliefs about one's ability to cope with stress. Beliefs about our ability to perform tasks that affect our lives have been termed "self-efficacy". A strong sense of self-efficacy has been shown to positively impact life choices, motivation, quality of functioning, resilience to adversity, and vulnerability to stress and depression. People with low self-efficacy tend to avoid challenges, discontinue tasks that are difficult, and be at risk for more depression and stress, resulting in less satisfaction with life. This study uses a psychological strategy, called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to enhance self-efficacy skills for caregivers of family members with SCI, with a focus on changing thinking styles to help people make emotional and behavioral changes. The investigators hypothesize that by providing family caregivers with a six week group educational intervention, their self-efficacy skills as well as general life satisfaction can be improved, and minimize depression, stress and anxiety that often accompany the caregiving role. The innovation of the proposed intervention is its integration of positive psychotherapy concepts into structured group CBT to develop optimistic self-efficacy beliefs, strengthen the caregiver's ability to deal with day-to-day stress, and enhance a sense of well-being in the caregiver which, in turn, may benefit the family member with SCI.