Do you ever wonder:
How one survives a relationships when a brain injury happens?
How to ask about love when a couple is living with brain injury?
What the research says?
What are the signs that the relationship is struggling
How support can be offered to couples?
We know that brain injury can be devastating for some of our clients, but it can be even more so when brain injury impacts couples.
The client suddenly becomes part of a bigger system that is also injured by proxy, a system that changes roles from partners into carers, advocates and sometimes parents-type roles. What happens to love in these scenarios?
At PsychWorks Associates, we want to share our psychological understanding of rehabilitating love for our brain injured clients to help provide as full a care package as you can for your clients.
To learn more about love in brain injury work, read on….
We focus much of our clients’ rehabilitation input into physical, social and psychological goals. We talk about some emotions, but where does love fit into the picture for couples and those wanting relationships?
First, here’s some science supporting couples work when there’s been a brain injury:
Brain Injury can result in changes in a person’s thinking skills, personality, emotional and physical wellbeing, and social skills – this can deeply impact the intimate-partner relationships.
Divorce/separation rates are higher, and reports of an emotional disconnection – as partners feel more like parents.
Non-injured partners struggle with high distress, feelings of loss and isolation.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) looks at distress in relationships and is growing in its application with brain injur couples, because it relies more on feelings than thinking skills.
The focus is on the disruption in the couples bond, which becomes insecure when partners fail to respond to each others emotional needs, causing distance and disconnection.
OK, but how do you know if your client and their partner are in need of some additional therapy support?
Blurred boundaries between client and their partner
Replacing love for protective or caring feelings
A sense of loss of the relationship that once was
Relationship is strained or breaking down
Partner seemingly burdened by new roles for the client
Expression of upset of loss of intimacy
Guilt, loss, resentment towards the injured person
Reduced cues from uninjured partner to client
Little awareness or sensitivity to partner’s feelings
Little humour or expressed joy between the couple
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