A Peer-Reviewed Article by Ascellus on Improving Outcomes for Work-Related Concussions

A two-year study conducted by Ascellus team members was recently published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. “Improving Outcomes for Work-Related Concussions: A Mental Health Screening and Brief Therapy Model” is a peer-reviewed article that details the findings of a two-year study on injured workers with complex psychosocial post-concussion symptoms. Importantly, the results suggest that return-to-work outcomes improve dramatically when patients undergo an initial neurocognitive screening evaluation coupled with brief cognitive behavioral therapy treatment. 

Contributing to the article were Acsellus’s own Drs. Daniel Legoff, Ph.D., and Miranda Kofeldt, Ph.D., and Aimee Peters, LCSW. They studied 157 patients who were experiencing delayed recovery due to work-related concussions (averaging 10 months off duty from work between the injury and the time of referral for the study). The study group was given a brief neurocognitive screening evaluation followed by a brief therapy model called work-related cognitive behavioral therapy (W-CBT). These patients showed significant improvement in return-to-work outcomes. After an average of just seven sessions in seven weeks, an overwhelming 99% returned to full-duty work without restrictions or accommodations.   

Work-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is provided to mitigate negative thought patterns and instill coping practices whereby injured workers can learn to better manage stress, anxiety and depression. This brief intervention introduces injured employees to alternative thinking patterns and behaviors that interrupt disruptive habits. Cognitive behavioral therapy provides workers with the confidence and recovery necessary to return to work. Research suggests that delayed recovery from neurocognitive injury is due less to symptoms of the initial injury than the psychological distress that accompanies the injury.

Dr. Daniel B. LeGoff, Ph.D., LP, is the Clinical Quality Assurance Advisor, who oversees injured workers with head injuries referred to Ascellus. A licensed neuropsychologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience, Dr. LeGoff has held many prestigious clinical and teaching positions at Ivy League universities and government and healthcare institutions nationwide. Dr. LeGoff was embedded as a neuropsychologist at a rehabilitation program at a large workers’ compensation organization. A world-renowned speaker, author and expert in personal development and cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. LeGoff has conducted professional training worldwide.

Dr. Miranda Kofeldt, Ph.D., is the Clinical Director and Clinical Quality Assurance Advisor at Ascellus. Having earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Medicine from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Dr. Kofeldt has clinical expertise in treating trauma, substance use and other health behaviors and the psychological sequelae of physical health conditions. Her extensive training and experience also include the use of motivational enhancement techniques. Dr. Kofeldt has co-authored textbook chapters published by the American Psychiatric Association and contributed to the Gender, Women, and the Tobacco Epidemic monograph for the World Health Organization.

Aimee Peters, LCSW, is the Chief Clinical Innovation Officer at Ascellus. With nearly 25 years of clinical expertise, strategic acumen, product and program development and leadership in the behavioral health industry, Peters has pioneered virtual behavioral healthcare, increasing access and high-quality behavioral healthcare to many of the US’s largest health insurers across all 50 states. Driven by a passion for promoting telehealth adoption, Aimee serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Social Work where she developed the University’s telemental health care curriculum.

You can read the entire study “Improving Outcomes for Work-Related Concussions: A Mental Health Screening and Brief Therapy Model” by clicking here.