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Traumatic Brain Injury

What Is Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) refers to insult to the brain that causes impairment. Common causes of TBI are the result of a blow to the head, stroke, brain tumor, infection, lack of oxygen (hypoxia), and/or toxic chemicals. TBI is a major cause of death and disability in the US and a significant public health concern as 1.7 million people sustain a TBI in a given year. Depending on the severity of the injury, symptoms may remit after a short period of time or may cause life-long disability. Injury to the brain impacts personality, cognition and behavior. Although the majority of TBIs are classified as concussions or mild TBIs, as many as 10% of those who have TBI experience complex symptoms that last from months to years.

What are common symptoms following a TBI/Concussion?

Common symptoms after a TBI fall under several categories: physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.

  • Physical: chronic pain, migraines, sleep disturbance, changes in appetite and sexual functioning, impaired movement, sensation, and dizziness
  • Cognitive: confusion, difficulty with attention/concentration, problems with organization and planning, memory impairment, communication difficulties, trouble with reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, and judgment
  • Emotional: psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, adjustment, post traumatic stress disorder), personality changes, irritability, apathy, emotion dysregulation, and rumination
  • Behavioral: verbal/physical outburst, impulse control, apathy, rigidity, lack of initiation, and engaging in risky behavior

Psychologists are specially trained to help individuals and families cope with many of these complex changes.

How can CBT help?

Extensive research has found Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to be a highly efficacious treatment for mood disorders. Large numbers of people with a brain injury have clinically significant mood disorders following their injury. Comorbid mood disturbances are a major contributing factor of impaired function and symptom exacerbation.

Common presenting problems:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Rumination
  • Emotion Dysregulation
  • Adjustment post injury

Treatment strategies include:

  • Education to better understand the impact of injury
  • Self-monitoring
  • Behavioral experiments
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Emotion regulation
  • Problem solving techniques
  • Mindfulness training
  • Identifying triggers
  • Medication adherence
  • Improving sleep hygiene
  • Stress management
  • Graded activation
  • Pain management
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