Poststroke Depression: Social Workers' Role in Addressing an Underrecognized Psychological Problem for Couples Who Have Experienced Stroke

Depression is the most common psychological challenge faced by many individuals and families following stroke. Fortunately, poststroke depression is treatable, and even preventable, if social work and other rehabilitation practitioners understand the most common risk factors and become familiar with measures for assessing for depression among patients with medical comorbidities such as stroke. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness among readers about the strong potential for depression following stroke and to provide an overview of common assessment measures. On the basis of increasing numbers of patients being cared for by informal caregivers following discharge from inpatient care facilities, growing evidence of the interconnectedness of couples' emotional well-being and the significance of couples-level factors like relationship quality and coping in the well-being of couples experiencing stroke, and current needs for effective interventions for poststroke depression, a secondary purpose of this article is to describe the importance of assessing and treating survivors in the context of their committed relationships.