Essay on traumatic brain injury

A study done in Canada showed that 563 cases in 100,000 are reported with an estimate of 10 million people a year affected by traumatic brain injury. In the course of this paper, traumatic brain injury will be referred as TBI (Silver et al. , 2011, p. TBI is defined as a severe induced disruption of the functioning of the brain which is caused by either application of a strong force to the head or the rapid deceleration or acceleration of blast-related forces. Brain injury might be as a result of the penetration by a sharp object. Primary Brain Injury Mechanism Cerebral contusions- These are hemorrhagic lesions that occur when a decelerating or accelerating blunt object causes a force which leads to the movement of the brain in the skull at the grey-white matter interfaces.

Intracranial hematoma- These are petechial hemorrhages which occur throughout the cerebral hemispheres. Bleeding in the skull occurs as a result of the rupture of blood vessels due to the impact. This may lead to coma and calls for surgical intervention to stop the bleeding (Silver et al. , 2011, p. Other complications that might occur later include hydrocephalus and post-traumatic epilepsy. TBI is characterized depending on • the mechanism of injury • severity if injuries to the body and the brain • breach of the cranium The term midland concussion is often used interchangeably in TBI literature. However, the term concussion is mostly used in sports. Even though there are brief mentions of TBI in the history books, rehabilitation came into effect only until the 20th century.

During the World War 1, countries created rehabilitation programs for the wounded veterans. This should be guided according to the desires of the individual in context of their skills, weakness and strengths. Recovery for mental patients is a journey where the individual aims at living a meaningful life while utilizing their potential. It is grouped into fundamental categories namely • Self-direction- It should be guided by the patient who defines the goals they would like to achieve at the end of the program. • Person centered- The purpose of the intervention is to attain mental health hence it is based on the individual taking into consideration their strength and weakness. • Peer-support- This is the provision of a sense of belonging by the community and family members.

Despite the content of information, communication utilizes particular part of the brain. The right hemisphere is tasked with processing the various aspects of language, Lesion in the right cerebral hemisphere causes difficulty in communication. On the other hand, damage to the frontal lobes causes the loss in control over speech (McDonald, Code, and Togher, 2016, p. Inability to concentrate is a common complaint in TBI. To begin with, most TBI victims have difficulty in performing tasks that were otherwise easy before the injury. The brain is limited to the amount of information it can process in a given time (07:01-07:15). If the limit is surpassed, then the rate at which the activities are performed decreases significantly. If the information is increased again, errors are prone to occur.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a therapeutic intervention that helps in dealing with dysfunctional thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. CBT centers on resolutions that will encourage the patient to change their destructive behaviors and challenge their distorted cognition. CBT emphasizes on the role an individual’s thoughts plays in influencing emotions. Simon’s therapist helped him in learning how to alienate negative emotional response such as aggressiveness. Recovery Oriented Practice Treatment interventions for mental health are based on what is the problem with the patient. Impairments and symptoms are examined and indemnified and later tabled down as limitations. The medical personnel then later prescribes the best treatment intervention for the patient. Some of the other occupational therapy models that agree with client-centered practice are an ecology of human performance and person environment occupation These models affirm that an individual cannot be recognized outside their environment (Brown, and Stoffel, 2010, p.

The use of client-centered recovery-oriented interventions ensures that there is a shift in the program from merely offering sessions to improving the life of the individual. Many have argued that the assessing of symptoms and using it in treatment interventions is a preserve of medical interventions that give medications. However, this is not true. A proper understanding of symptoms is important in occupational therapy hence in comprehension of what the client is dealing with. In the aspect of using narrative as an intervention, it helps in self-discovery and psychological processing. This helps one to connect with others and a reflection of their life experiences. This enhances understanding and cooperation between the client and their therapist. This gives the therapist a mental note on how the occupational intervention will be delivered to the patient.

Environment and Occupational Therapy The environment is a crucial factor in occupational therapy. Occupational therapy is effective if the relevant individuals will make use of resources in offering support to patients with TBI. Family and friends are an integral part of the recovery process. A social network and the feeling of belonging has been found to boost the healing process by reducing symptoms and boosting self-esteem. These groups tend to be more beneficial as it reduces isolation and stigmatization. This close groups of people ensured that the patient confides in them rather than professionals due to the emotional attachment shared. It is worth noting that temporal order memory is poorer when intentional learning instructions are used as compared to incidental learning which is coupled with tasks of shorter durations.

A research study whose findings were published in Scandinavian Journal of occupational therapy shows the efficacy of using Working Memory Training Program on cognitive deficits in both moderate and severe brain injury victims. It was documented that individuals who took part in the training showed a significant improvement in their ability to handle activities in daily life. This training was not affected by factors such as diagnosis, injury or age. All the participants showed improvement in their working memory. Instructions are minimal structured to exhaust the possibilities of watching how a client will formulate their own goals and also plan how they will complete the tasks. This was evident in the first part of the clip series where Simon and the therapist visit a convenient store (1:00) The therapist asks Simon, what should we do? This is an example of a minimally structured instruction.