Depression and Lability: The Effects on Occupation following Stroke

Abstract

Case study methodology was used to explore the effect of emotional changes following a stroke on engagement in occupation. Two people who had had a stroke, and their partners, were interviewed. The participants' medical case notes from acute, rehabilitation and outpatient treatment were also reviewed. As a result of the stroke, one participant experienced depression and the other lability.

The case studies illustrate the impact that emotional changes can have on the performance of occupations. They also illustrate the reverse, that perceived competence in the performance of occupations can affect emotions, either negatively or positively. The results point to a need for occupational therapists to take an occupational perspective, if wellbeing is to be maximised, as they consider and address the effects of emotional changes with people who have had a stroke.