FACES intervention vs OxMET

FACES Intervention aims to improve two main skills that are theorised to be the crux of how emotions are recognised in others. According to the literature, the two main ways in which we determine emotion in others is by: 1) attending to and understanding important emotional cues and 2) having experienced that emotion ourselves; therefore referring to our own similar emotional experiences. Consequently the goals of this treatment program are: i. To teach participants to attend to facial features/regions that are most important for determining emotion (eye region: brows and lids; and mouth). ii. To use personal emotional experience to relate to and identify emotions in others. There are two main components to this program. One component uses a series of questions to familiarise participants with facial expressions. The other piece uses elaborate discussion to help the participant relate to the emotions being discussed, through awareness of their own personal emotional experiences. Both components of this program are interwoven and require a lot of interaction between the participant and the therapist.

OxMET was developed by the Translational Neuropsychology Research Group at the University of Oxford. The OxMET cognitive screen has been standardised, normed and validated (Webb et al 2021, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation). OxMET is suitable for use with adults, and in chronic (greater 6-month post-stoke) and subacute (greater 3 months post-stroke). The tool is not for self-assessment. Instead, OxMET provides health professionals with a brief, ecologically valid, assessment of executive dysfunction using a naturalistic shopping scenario. The test is automatically scored and evaluated against age adjusted norms (three age groups; under 64, between 64 and 72, and over 72). Upon completion, a visual snapshot report is automatically generated and can be stored locally on the device. The information contained in the report is not in itself a clinical diagnosis. The report should be used to inform a clinical diagnosis that takes into account all relevant clinical factors.