Life After Brain Injury: Survivors' Stories

by Barbara A. Wilson, Jill Winegardner, Fiona Ashworth

Overview

This is the first book of its kind to include the personal accounts of people who have survived injury to the brain, along with professional therapists' reports of their progress through rehabilitation. The paintings and stories of survivors combine with experts' discussions of the theory and practice of brain injury rehabilitation to illustrate the ups and downs that survivors encounter in their journey from pre-injury status to insult and post-injury rehabilitation.

Wilson, Winegardner and Ashworth's focus on the survivors' perspective shows how rehabilitation is an interactive process between people with brain injury, health care staff, and others, and gives the survivors the chance to tell their own stories of life before their injury, the nature of the insult, their early treatment, and subsequent rehabilitation.

Presenting practical approaches to help survivors of brain injury achieve functionally relevant and meaningful goals, Life After Brain Injury: Survivors’ Stories will help all those working in rehabilitation understand the principles involved in holistic brain injury rehabilitation and how these principles, combined with theory and models, translate into clinical practice.

This book will be of great interest to anyone who wishes to extend their knowledge of the latest theories and practices involved in making life more manageable for people who have suffered damage to the brain. Life After Brain Injury: Survivors’ Stories will also be essential for clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, and anybody dealing with acquired brain injury whether they be a survivor of a brain injury themselves, a relative, a friend or a carer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848721111
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/29/2013
Series:	After Brain Injury: Survivor Stories
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Barbara A. Wilson is a neuropsychologist and founder of the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Ely, UK. She has worked in brain injury rehabilitation for over 35 years and has published 18 books, 270 journal articles and chapters and 8 neuropsychological tests. Among her many awards she has an OBE and two lifetime achievement awards. She is the editor of the journal Neuropsychological Rehabilitation and has a rehabilitation centre in Ecuador named after her.

Jill Winegardner is a clinical neuropsychologist with 30 years' experience in brain injury assessment and rehabilitation. She has worked in a range of settings including acute inpatient, acute and post-acute rehabilitation, residential rehabilitation and outpatient care. She is currently lead clinical psychologist at the Oliver Zangwill Centre for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation. Her clinical and research interests include neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation and programme design and evaluation.

Fiona Ashworth is a clinical psychologist with over ten years' experience in working with people with acquired brain injury. Since completing her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Oxford, she has worked for five years at the Oliver Zangwill Centre for neuropsychological rehabilitation. She is currently a senior lecturer in psychology at Anglia Ruskin University. Fiona also continues to work as a clinical psychologist at the Evelyn Community Head Injury Service, a project developed by the Oliver Zangwill Centre.

Table of Contents

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction Tim’s Story: A seemingly mild injury just waiting to be understood. Natalie’s Story: The phoenix rising from the ashes. Eliot’s Story: Rehabilitation through golf and family. Kate’s Story: Recovery takes time, so don’t give up. Jose David’s Story: From medical student to medical anthropologist. Tracey’s Story: Quality of life with Locked-In Syndrome. James’s Story: Returning from the ‘dark side’. Claire’s Story: A face is not a person. Jason’s Story: Putting a spanner in the works. Christine’s Story: One day I woke up and there I was! Adrian’s Story: Dealing with potholes on the road to recovery. Lorraine’s Story: I just want to be able to look after the bairns. Mark’s Story: The 1000 foot fall guy. Vicky’s Story: Lifting the stone eggs from my heart. Robert’s Story: Understanding is key to invisible injuries. Alex’s Story: Calming the drama and sticking with life. Karen’s Story: Putting the pieces back together again. Concluding Remarks. References.

Editorial Reviews

"I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the neuropsychological rehabilitation of people with acquired brain damage. Clinicians will certainly gain some insight regarding the inner workings of such a complex endeavour. Brain injury survivors and their families, on the other hand, will also benefit from this book, by finding some emotional resonance between their own experience and the stories narrated here. In addition, Life After Brain Injury could also become a valuable psycho-educational tool, helping survivors to acquire some awareness of what a rehabilitation process is, and what it can—and cannot—accomplish." - Christian Salas Riquelme, Neuro-Disability & Psychotherapy

"This unique and fascinating book portrays rehabilitation at its best: as a partnership between the therapist and the participant. Each chapter describes the process of rehabilitation assessment and treatment from the perspectives of both participant and therapist. Therapeutic alliance has received increasing attention in rehabilitation as a critical element for successful outcomes. Life After Brain Injury embodies and illustrates the mutual respect, empathy and goal orientation that characterises an effective therapeutic alliance. Reading this book should give both new and seasoned therapists a clear sense of what therapeutic engagement really means, and individuals with brain injury renewed hope that life can continue to improve after brain injury." - James F. Malec, Indiana University, USA

"As the incidence of concussions, post-sports injuries, and brain injuries during military deployments has exponentially increased in recent years, many psychologists and other mental health professionals have questions about the usefulness and efficacy of rehabilitation. This book successfully demonstrates some answers to both of those questions. In addition, it will also serve as a beacon of hope for family members and those interested in better understanding the neurorehabilitation process and the successes that can be achieved even years after an injury." - Kathleen Sitley Brown, PsycCRITIQUES

"This book provides a rare opportunity to hear the voices of individuals with brain injury as they describe the lows and highs of their personal journeys from injury through rehabilitation. The reader learns about a variety of individualised therapeutic approaches to the problems experienced by people with brain injuries. It highlights the importance of a collaborative approach to rehabilitation." - Jennie Ponsford, Monash University, Australia

"Life After Brain Injury: Survivors’ Stories takes a unique approach by depicting people's own account of adjustment to their brain injury, in partnership with their therapist. Such stories powerfully convey the everyday implications of brain injury and offer readers new insights about the brain, about experience-guided rehabilitation and the work of neuropsychologists. Much can be learned from the courage, tenacity and ingenuity of the survivors and the rehabilitation process provided by their therapists. Each story will provide clinicians with ideas and inspiration in their own practice." - Tamara Ownsworth, Griffith University, Australia

"Seventeen cogent and collaboratively written case studies provide convincing evidence that holistic approaches to the neuropsychological rehabilitation of individuals following brain injuries can produce optimal outcomes. This book should be on the assigned bibliography of students and novices; as well as on the "must-read list" of experienced teachers, researchers and clinicians in our field." - Yehuda Ben-Yishay

From the Publisher