Combining scientific expertise with psychotherapeutic acumen, this book is highly accessible and packed with clinical tools. Part I provides essential information on how acquired brain injury affects emotional functioning. Part II describes practical, specially tailored ways to treat anxiety, depression, and anger related to brain damage, and to help patients regain a sense of meaning and value in their lives. The book shows how standard psychotherapeutic interventions can be adapted for the brain-injured population, as well as which approaches may be contraindicated. It presents a biopsychosocial framework for assessment and treatment that integrates emotional support, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and acceptance- and mindfulness-based strategies.

Combining scientific expertise with psychotherapeutic acumen, this book is highly accessible and packed with clinical tools. Part I provides essential information on how acquired brain injury affects emotional functioning. Part II describes practical, specially tailored ways to treat anxiety, depression, and anger related to brain damage, and to help patients regain a sense of meaning and value in their lives. The book shows how standard psychotherapeutic interventions can be adapted for the brain-injured population, as well as which approaches may be contraindicated. It presents a biopsychosocial framework for assessment and treatment that integrates emotional support, cognitive-behavioral techniques, and acceptance- and mindfulness-based strategies.

The psychological impact of an acquired brain injury (ABI) can be devastating for both the person involved and their family. This book describes the different types of psychological therapies used to ameliorate psychological distress following ABI. Each chapter presents a new therapeutic approach by experts in the area. Readers will learn about the key principles and techniques of the therapy alongside its application to a specific case following ABI. In addition, readers will gain insight into which approach may be most beneficial to whom as well as those where there may be additional challenges. Covering a wide array of psychological therapies, samples range from more historically traditional approaches to those more recently developed. Psychological Therapies in Acquired Brain Injury will be of great interest to clinicians and researchers working in brain injury rehabilitation, as well as practitioners, researchers and students of psychology, neuropsychology and rehabilitation.

It deals not only with traditional aspects of therapy with these challenging patients, but also with special problems that may arise, including aggression and impulsivity, alcohol and drug abuse, chronic pain, sex and relationships, and vocational and forensic issues.

William Winslade presents facts about traumatic brain injury; information about its financial and emotional costs to individuals, families, and society; and key ethical and policy issues. He illustrates each aspect with dramatic case studies, including his own childhood brain injury. He explains how the brain works and how severe injuries affect it, both immediately and over the long term, pointing out how resources are often squandered on patients with poor prognoses but adequate insurance, while underinsured patients with better prognoses often do not receive the best care. He describes the lack of regulation in the rehabilitation industry and what federal and state legislatures are doing to correct the situation. And he recommends policy changes for lowering the instances of traumatic brain injury (such as raising the minimum driving age) as well as practical steps that individuals can take to protect themselves from brain trauma. William J. Winslade is James Wade Rockwell Professor of Philosophy in Medicine at the Institute for the Medical Humanities, professor of preventive medicine and community health, and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He is also Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Houston Health Law and Policy Institute.

Children, young people and families living with an acquired brain injury (ABI), whether through accident, illness, injury or abuse, are rarely offered psychological therapy, and yet the benefits of such interventions can be profound. This important new book, providing a selection of practice examples and insights from frontline practitioners, will be essential reading for any paediatric therapist or clinician. Beginning with a "life story" of the brain where emphasis is placed on how brain development is fundamentally related to its environment, the book offers key background knowledge before showcasing the core topics of assessment, psychological formulation and intervention. It features a range of therapeutic models, includes direct and indirect work, group work and family therapy, with settings varying from inpatient neurorehabilitation to community work and the transition to education. The long-term needs of those in the criminal justice system are also addressed. The closing chapters focus on the debate around effective outcome measurement and outline a vision for better services. Elevating the voices of our children, young people and families living with ABI, this pioneering book will provide practitioners with the confidence to work collaboratively across a range of children and young people with disorders of consciousness or communication to those with behaviour that challenges others to manage. It offers new ways to understand both children’s pasts and their futures, and will be essential reading for anyone in the field.

Despite the importance of the problem, strikingly little has been written about effective approaches to the treatment of individuals with mild to moderate brain injury. This book is designed for neuropsychologists, counseling and rehabilitation psychologists, and other rehabilitation professionals who work with individuals who have sustained brain injuries of mild to moderate severity. It provides a context for understanding and evaluating the common consequences of such injuries and offers both theoretical perspectives and practical suggestions for helping individuals to adjust to and compensate for residual difficulties. Early chapters focus on different domains of cognitive functioning, while later chapters describe clinical approaches to helping clients manage common emotional reactions such as depression, irritability, and anxiety. While the book acknowledges and discusses the controversy about the origins of persistent symptoms following mild brain injures, it does not focus on the controversy. Rather, it adopts a "what works" approach to dealing with individuals who have persistent symptoms and perceptions that contribute to disability and to emotional distress. Many of these individuals benefit significantly from neuropsychological intervention. Case examples throughout the book illustrate the adaptation of cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, and traditional psychotherapeutic approaches to individuals with mild to moderate brain injury. Self-regulation and self-management of both cognitive failures and emotional responses are described as appropriate and effective in this population.