Group Therapy

5.16 In addition to individual therapy delivered by speech pathologists, aphasia rehabilitation can include group therapy.

References: Brady et al., 2016: Cochrane review; Dede et al., 2019: RCT; Wilson et al., 2023: Scoping review of 13 studies (2 RCTs, 8 case studies (8), and 3 qualitative studies)

NHMRC Level of Evidence: I

Rationale: Previous research has found group-based speech and language therapy to be effective, with outcomes similar to one-on-one therapy on measures of receptive (e.g., auditory comprehension) and expressive language (including spoken and written language), functional communication, and quality of life (Brady et al., 2016). 

An RCT of conversation therapy found group size may be associated with effects on different types of outcome measures, with dyads showing the most changes on measures of language impairment, and group treatment resulting in more changes to discourse production and self-rated functional communication (Dede et al., 2019).

There is evidence that aphasia group therapy may also lead to improved health-related quality of life, confidence, and interaction with peers (Wilson et al., 2023), although it is unclear how benefits of this type of therapy can be maximised.

References:

1. Brady, M.C., Kelly, H., Godwin, J., Enderby, P., & Campbell, P. (2016). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 6(6). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd000425.pub4 
2. DeDe, G., Hoover, E., & Maas, E. (2019). Two to Tango or the More the Merrier? A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Group Size in Aphasia Conversation Treatment on Standardized Tests. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(5), 1437-1451. DOI: 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-L-18-0404. 
3. Wilson, C., Jones, A., Schick-Makaroff, K., & Kim, E. S. (2023). Understanding the impact of group therapy on health-related quality of life of people with Aphasia: a scoping review. Speech, Language and Hearing, 26(2), 88–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2021.1917216