Psychosocial Aspects of Rehabilitation in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Fields of Approach

Abstract

Psychosocial health is a concept included in definition of health by World Health Organization and corresponds to state of emotional and social well-being. In the context of neurological disorder, psychosocial health refers to social reintegration and psychological adjustment. Studies reporting that neurological diseases are associated with negative psychosocial health outcomes such as a decrease in the quality of life, a decrease in ability to establish and maintain social relationships, and an increase in high levels of depression, stress and anxiety have increased in recent years. Therefore, it is important to consider programs and interventions that can improve the psychosocial health of people with neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, it is not clear which psychosocial approaches can produce definitively positive results. The aim of this study is to examine how being an individual with Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's, which are the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the clinic, affects psychosocial health in the rehabilitation process and the existing evidence-based psychosocial approaches. For this purpose, a descriptive review was prepared by scanning English and Turkish articles with keywords on psychotherapeutic, psychosocial and mindfulness-based interventions and stress management, published in the determined databases in the last 10 years. Studies have shown that psychosocial approaches such as interventions for acquisition of social integration and adaptive coping strategies, cognitive and social behavioral therapy methods, concentration and movement-based mind-body exercises are effective in rehabilitation of neurodegenerative diseases. These approaches were reported to have benefits in reducing anxiety, depression and fatigue, improving sleep quality and quality of life, relationships, employment, level of participation, motivation and self-efficacy in exercise and physical activity, improving physical functions, facilitating difficult and personal experiences and adaptation to new life in rehabilitation processes and more evidence-based studies are needed.