Everything You Wanted to Know About Counseling After Brain Injury But Were Afraid to Ask Katy Wilder Schaaf, PhD, Lillian Flores Stevens, PhD, and Stephen Smith, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Virginia Commonwealth University Page 1 of 2

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  On April 24, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with people with traumatic brain injury and their families. Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King. Transcript of this video.
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  On April 24, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with people with traumatic brain injury and their families. Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King. Transcript of this video.
• BrainLine Talks with Dr. Jeffrey Kreutzer and Dr. Taryn Stejskal About the Uniqueness of Their Approach
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  On April 24, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with people with traumatic brain injury and their families. Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King. Transcript of this video.
• BrainLine Talks with Dr. Jeffrey Kreutzer and Dr. Taryn Stejskal About What Happens to a Family After Brain Injury
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  On April 24, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with people with traumatic brain injury and their families. Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King. Transcript of this video.
• BrainLine Talks with Dr. Jeffrey Kreutzer and Dr. Taryn Stejskal About What Kinds of Support they Provide
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  On April 24, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with people with traumatic brain injury and their families. Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King. Transcript of this video.
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Brain injury can change your life in many ways. Many people report feeling worthless, misunderstood, lonely, and frustrated after their injury. In fact, over half of people who have a brain injury also experience depression. People with brain injury might also experience anxiety, difficulty controlling emotions, changes in relationships with family and friends, financial strain, and difficulty adjusting to changes in work, school, or home life. Life after a brain injury can be overwhelming for both the survivor and family members.

Your doctor may have recommended counseling or psychotherapy. (The terms counseling, psychotherapy, and therapy are very similar and are often used interchangeably. However, a therapist vs. a counselor may have different ways of approaching treatment.) After injury, patients often go to many therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. Counseling is simply another form of therapy that helps people recover emotionally after their injury. Going to counseling does not mean you are “crazy;” it is a tool you can use to help you feel better about your life today and more hopeful about the future.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COUNSELING

1. What happens when I go to counseling?

Your experience in counseling will depend on the particular problems you want to work on. There are many different ways to help you address your concerns. Counseling is not like a medical doctor visit where the doctor tells you what to do to fix your problem. Instead, you will be actively involved in learning how to identify and solve your own problems in the future. Those who benefit the most from counseling not only work on their concerns during sessions, but also at home.

2. Can counseling help me?

Counseling has been shown to be helpful to many people who are recovering from an injury. Since counseling often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience temporary uncomfortable feelings like sadness, anger, and frustration. However, over time, counseling can lead to improvements in relationships, solutions to specific problems, and decreased feelings of distress. Because personal experiences

vary, there is no guaranteed result of counseling.

3. Why do I need to go to counseling? I have support from family, friends and my community.

Family, friends and community can be excellent sources of support and can be there for you when you need help the most. However, a trained counselor can provide you with additional support that can add to the help you receive at home or in your community. A counselor may work with you to develop new skills and coping mechanisms that help you feel better and more capable of handling problems on your own in the future. Counselors may also help you to discuss situations in which you are receiving conflicting advice from friends or family.

4. How do I know that what I say will be kept private?

All licensed mental health professionals are required to follow a code of ethics. The code of ethics requires that counselors only share information about treatment with people authorized by you. As the consumer, you can sign a release of information for your counselor to talk to other people. There are a few exceptions which you and your counselor should discuss. These exceptions include: (1) your counselor being concerned

that you are a danger to yourself or to someone else, (2) you reporting child abuse or neglect, (3) you reporting elder abuse or neglect, or (4) your records being subpoenaed by a court of law. If these things come up in session, your counselor should talk to you about reporting them to the necessary people.

5. What is the difference between a psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor, therapist, and social worker?

6. If I go to a counselor, will he or she try and get me to take medication?

The only health professionals who are able to prescribe medications are psychiatrists, other medical doctors, or nurse practitioners/physicians assistants. So, most counselors are not able to prescribe medications and will work with you on behavioral ways to make changes in your life. If you think that medication could provide some additional benefit, you should talk with your counselor and let them know your feelings. Your counselor may provide a referral to another professional to discuss medication. Your counselor can also talk with you about how to approach the appointment.

7. Will my counselor make me relive painful memories or talk about things that I don’t want to talk about?

Talking about problems is often difficult. You may experience temporary uncomfortable feelings like sadness, anger, and frustration when you discuss unpleasant aspects of your life; however, your counselor will never force you to talk about something you don’t want to talk about. You have complete control over what you share with your counselor.

Written by Katy Wilder Schaaf, PhD, Lillian Flores Stevens, PhD, and Stephen Smith, PhD, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. Used with permission. www.pmr.vcu.edu.

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