Introduction. According to Ministry of Health statistics cited by the authors, more than 2,000 spinal injuries were recorded in Russia in 2024. Such injuries frequently affect young people of working age, are a major cause of prolonged disability and adversely affect psychoemotional well-being. The study aimed to examine whether a psychological intervention program could improve the psychoemotional state of patients with spinal cord injury.
Materials and methods. The sample comprised 40 rehabilitation patients aged 20–35 with thoracic or lumbar spinal cord injuries. Assessments included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale by Zigmond and Snaith, Nemchin’s neuropsychological tension assessment, the psychological stress scale in Vodopyanova’s adaptation and Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale in Nemchin’s adaptation. Changes were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
Results. Significant changes were reported in psychological stress (p = 0.000002, T = 12), HADS anxiety (p = 0.000001, T = 23), trait anxiety (p = 0.00008, T = 13), neuropsychological tension (p = 0.00008, T = 22) and HADS depression (p = 0.00009, T = 11).
Discussion. The results suggest that psychological intervention sessions can alleviate symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and neuropsychological tension.
Conclusion. The authors conclude that psychological intervention is needed to improve the psychoemotional state of patients with spinal cord injury.