ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
Acceptability of tDCS in treating stress-related mental health disorders: a mixed methods study among military patients and caregivers.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation and mirror therapy on mental health and dopamine level among spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy children.BMC pediatrics · 2025Trial
- The inconsistent effects of tDCS in rehabilitation and cognitive enhancement: sources of variability and paths to personalization.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Acceptability of active and sham home-based transcranial direct current stimulation in major depression: mixed methods qualitative analysis in a randomised controlled trial.Annals of general psychiatry · 2025Article
- Unraveling the brain dynamics of Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder: a dynamic functional network connectivity analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Effects of multisession prefrontal cortex tDCS or taVNS on stress, perceived stress and sleep quality: a double-blind, randomized controlled study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Does concurrent self-administered transcranial direct current stimulation and attention bias modification training improve symptoms of binge eating disorder? Protocol for the TANDEM feasibility randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNoninvasive brain stimulation techniques like transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) offer potential new approaches to treat stress-related mental health disorders. While the acceptability of tDCS as a treatment tool plays a crucial role in its development and implementation, little is known about tDCS acceptability for users in mental healthcare, especially in the context of stress-related disorders.
methodsUsing a mixed-methods approach, we investigated tDCS acceptability among 102 active duty and post-active military patients with stress-related symptoms (posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and impulsive aggression) who participated in a 5-session tDCS intervention. Quantitative dropout and adverse effects data was collected for all patients involved in the sham-controlled tDCS intervention. We additionally explored perspectives on the acceptability of tDCS treatment via a theory-based semi-structured interview. A subgroup of patients as well as their caregivers were interviewed to include the views of both patients and mental healthcare professionals.
resultsQuantitative outcomes showed minimal tDCS-related adverse effects (mild itching or burning sensations on the scalp) and high tDCS treatment adherence (dropout rate: 4% for active tDCS, 0% for sham). The qualitative outcomes showed predominantly positive attitudes towards tDCS interventions for stress-related disorders, but only as complementary to psychotherapy. Remarkably, despite the perception that sufficient explanation was provided, patients and caregivers stressed that tDCS treatment comprehension was limited and should improve. Also, the travel associated with frequent on-site tDCS sessions may produce a significant barrier to care for patients with stress-related disorders and active-duty military personnel.
conclusionsAcceptability numbers and perspectives from military patients and caregivers suggest that tDCS is an acceptable complementary tool in the treatment of stress-related disorders. Critically, however, if tDCS is to be used beyond scientific studies, adequately educating users on tDCS working mechanisms is vital to further improve its acceptability. Also, the perceived potential barrier to care due to frequent travel may favor home-based tDCS solutions.
trial registrationThe tDCS intervention was part of a sham-controlled trial registered on 05-18-2016 at the Netherlands Trial Register with ID NL5709 .
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