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Learn About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a form of talk therapy, teaches people to reroute their negative thought patterns to improve their mental health. Many Veterans have found that CBT helps them process their trauma. Learn from Veterans who found relief with CBT at VA.

How EMDR works? Look at this animation

What is eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy (EMDR) and how does it work?

Occupational Therapy

An elderly woman working on needle crafts.

Guidance from an OT, along with targeted practice, will build new neural pathways, helping you build skills until you become more adept again.

Read more about Occupational Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT can help you to think differently about your experiences and your relationships, with the goal of making some positive changes in your life.

Read more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Speech Therapy

Woman in white lab coat illustrating speech sounds to a boy.

Recover or learn to compensate for the communication challenges your brain injury may have caused.

Read more about Speech Therapy

The Relational Paradox

A US Navy Chief Machinist’s Mate greets his family after returning home. (U.S. Navy photo by John Narewski/Released)

Service members and veterans form intimate bonds with their teammates that will last a lifetime, yet struggle to form or reform intimate relationships with others

The Relaxation Paradox

An Air Force Noncommissioned Officer rests on the ramp of a C-130J Hercules before a mission departing Maputo International Airport, Mozambique, March 30, 2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corban Lundborg

I want to clear my mind and enjoy life, but I cannot relax; everything matters, and people die when mistakes are made

Family Matters: Losing Friends and Family After Brain Injury

David Grant and his wife smiling in face masks

My verbal and emotional filters were shredded by my injury. I was, well… rather abrupt, unthinking, unfiltered, and a different person than I was before my injury. Did I say something offensive that drove him away?

The Courage Paradox

A service member jumps out of an Air Force C-130J Hercules during a military freefall jumpmaster course over Aviano Air Base, Italy, Sept. 11, 2020. DoD Photo By: Air Force Senior Airman Savannah Waters

Courage is not the absence of fear, as some think; instead, it is the act of continuing in the face of adversity in spite of the presence of fear.

The Insomnia Paradox

Marine Corps Cpl. Carlos Deleonsantiago rests with his military working dog, Fero, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Feb. 16, 2020. DoD Photo by USMC Lance Cpl. Cedar Barnes

Some service members and veterans are physically exhausted, but find getting to and staying asleep difficult

The Survivor's Guilt Paradox

A veteran reads the Glass Wall containing the names of 58,229 Americans killed during the Vietnam War. Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day, Onslow Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lejeune Memorial Gardens, Jacksonville, NC, 4.27.19. Photo by USMC LCpL Isaiah Gomez

The guilt and shame that many service members experience related to the loss or injury of someone they served with are contrasted with the appreciation they have for life.

The Modesty Paradox

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Barbee performs taps during a 75th commemoration event of the attacks on Pearl Harbor at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 2016. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Laurie Dexter.

Veterans want to be recognized and appreciated for their service, but are embarrassed or bothered when thanked for their service.

Self-Care During Difficult Times

David Grant and his wife smiling at the camera in front of a lighthouse

These are difficult times. Life is challenging enough for the fully-abled, but add a traumatic brain injury to the mix, and things can get downright overwhelming.

Announcing a New Head Space and Timing Series: The Paradox Problem

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team performs precision aerial maneuvers June 30, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Peña)

A paradox is something that seems like there is no way that it could be true. Like the Combat Addiction paradox: I hate war, but I love combat. Both of those things are true, but they seem like they shouldn’t be.

Thanks For the Memories?

David Grant and his wife smiling at the camera, surrounded by snow.

Every year since my 2010 traumatic brain injury, I’ve taken the time to reflect back on changes that have come to pass during the prior year. This past year was no different, although what my reflection showed was not what some may call progress. Progress is not always measured with tangible facts.

What is a stroke?

A stroke is when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off. In this animation we explain what a stroke is and the risk factors associated with having one.

Thanks to Our First Responders

David Grant and his wife smiling at the camera.

Members of the medical community literally take their lives in their hands every day they go to work. It’s hard not to feel a bit humbled by that courage. My first face-to-face encounter with First Responders was just over a decade ago. In November of 2010 fate saw fit that most of the First Responders from our Main Street Fire Station and I would meet.

What is CTE? Dr. Ann McKee explains.

Dr. Ann McKee, Director of the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, explains what CTE is, what causes it, how it spreads, its symptoms, and how the disease is diagnosed.

Aphasia: The disorder that makes you lose your words

Language is an essential part of our lives that we often take for granted. But, if the delicate web of language networks in your brain became disrupted by stroke, illness, or trauma, you could find yourself truly at a loss for words. Susan Wortman-Jutt details a disorder called aphasia, which can impair all aspects of communication.

Getting Off the Struggle Bus

In just a few days, the ten year anniversary of my cycling accident will be here. I have come a long way since everything changed in 2010. But just because things are okay most of the time does not mean that my brain injury disappeared.

Psychedelics

Helps you explore traumatic experiences without a feeling of immediate threat.

Read more about Psychedelics

Creative Arts Therapies

Creative expression can help you accept and work through the challenging emotions of your trauma.

Read more about Creative Arts Therapies

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

Helps you process and make sense of your trauma.

Read more about Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

Man talking to a woman with her back to the camera

Teaches you how to gain control by facing your fears.

Read more about Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

Stress and Brain Injury

Living under the shadow of a global pandemic, protests, natural disasters, and a contentious political landscape means our lives are full of stress and anxiety. While all of this weighs heavily on most anyone, it is those of us within the brain injury community that pay a higher premium.

BrainLine is a national service of WETA-TV, the flagship PBS station in Washington, D.C.

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