Monthly Archives: May 2022

Rebuilding after brain injury

By Bethany Bray May 31, 2022

“I just want to feel useful again, like I have some purpose.”

“I just want to know is there anything I can do?”

“I just want to know I’m not going crazy.”

“I want to be happy again, have friends again and feel satisfied in relationships.”

These are among the heartbreaking responses Herman Lukow, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed marriage and family therapist, receives from clients who have experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when he asks what they want and need from counseling.

Individuals who have experienced a TBI often find themselves facing change and challenge in nearly every aspect of life. Depending on the severity of the injury and their recovery trajectory, TBI survivors can experience memory loss, personality changes and difficulty with language, comprehension, impulsivity, anger and decision-making. This is in addition to physical issues such as having challenges with balance, coordination and mobility. Individuals with a TBI may no longer be able to work in the field or job they once had. They may lose the independence to do things such as drive a car, and their friends and loved ones may struggle — or even give up on — maintaining a relationship with this new, changed person.

These clients might come to counseling after experiencing a hospitalization and lengthy rehabilitation process involving countless appointments with a variety of medical specialists. Brain injury survivors “are so steeped in the medical environment,” Lukow says, that they’re used to practitioners telling them what to do. Professional counselors can be the first to flip that narrative and ask the client what they want and need.

Lukow, who spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow researching TBI at Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU’s) Traumatic Brain Injury Model System program, says he has had clients break down in tears because he was the first professional to ask them about their wants and needs since their injury.

A professional counselor can be the one to “honor what they want and empathize with them and help them understand this huge shift in their life that has occurred in a blink of an eye,” Lukow says. “This work takes a lot of patience, a lot of reframing. But some of my most appreciative clients have been TBI survivors.” In counseling, “they’ve finally found someone who doesn’t make them feel like a burden or judged.”

A difficult road

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that on any given day, roughly 176 people die and 611 people are hospitalized in the United States because of a TBI.

The Brain Injury Association of America (biausa.org) defines TBI as an “alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force.” One of the most common causes is falls, but TBI can also result from motor vehicle accidents, sports/recreation or workplace injuries, child abuse or intimate partner violence, blast injuries during war or disaster, or acts of violence such as assault or gunshot wounds. Nontraumatic (or acquired) brain injury can occur from a stroke, seizure, meningitis, lack of oxygen, exposure to toxins, pressure from a tumor, drug overdose and other scenarios.

Research suggests that certain populations are more likely to be affected by TBI, including veterans and members of the military, racial and ethnic minorities, survivors of intimate partner violence, those who live in rural areas and people who have experienced incarceration or homelessness. According to a recent article published in JAMA Network Open, it’s estimated that between 9% and 28% of U.S. soldiers who served in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced a TBI.

Not only do the causes and severity of brain injury vary, but each survivor will also have a different recovery trajectory and array of symptoms depending on which areas of the brain were affected, the person’s age, the support and treatment they received during recovery, and numerous other factors.

TBI “is anything but cookie-cutter,” stresses Michelle Bradham-Cousar, a licensed mental health counselor and certified rehabilitation counselor who recently completed a doctoral dissertation on counseling clients with TBI.

Not only will these clients’ needs and presenting concerns differ, but their therapeutic expectations, outcomes and what can be counted as “successes” will also vary, says Bradham-Cousar, who has a private counseling practice in Tampa, Florida. For one client, success may be returning to work full time; for another, it may be learning to calm down to keep from getting into fights with other residents of their group home (as was the case for one of Bradham-Cousar’s TBI clients).

“Success needs to be measured differently for each client — and it won’t look the same as your last client” with TBI, she emphasizes.

Lukow agrees, noting that benchmarks or signs that counselors may associate with improvement or growth in their other clients may not be apparent — or appropriate — with clients who have experienced a brain injury. Also, what might seem to be resistant behavior in this client population is often not intentional, he stresses. They may miss sessions or be hard to contact, but this is more likely to be caused by the memory and cognitive challenges they live with (e.g., confusing what day it is) rather than resistance.

Bounce forward

People who have experienced a brain injury will often hear well-meaning friends, family members, caregivers and even medical and other practitioners reference “bouncing back” when talking about their recovery. Lukow urges counselors to avoid using the phrase “bounce back” with these clients because there is no way for them to fully return to the life they had before their brain injury. Not only is such language unhelpful, but it can also give the recipient a sense of false hope.

Lukow instead uses the phrase “bounce forward” with his TBI clients. “In many cases, they can’t go back; they can only bounce forward,” says Lukow, who lives in Tennessee and works remotely as a staff counselor at a private practice in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Although these clients can’t go back to the way things were prior to their injury, they can work to move forward and make the most of their life with impairments through the support they receive and the skills they learn in counseling, Lukow says.

And these clients don’t always want or need encouragement, Lukow adds. At times, TBI clients may feel that the work they’re doing in counseling sessions only emphasizes what they have lost.

“Don’t always be a cheerleader,” Lukow urges. “Sometimes they don’t need to hear ‘that’s alright, you’ll get through it’ [from a counselor], but instead, ‘that really sucks.’”

Lukow specializes in counseling clients who have experienced TBI. He estimates that 10% to 20% of his current client caseload is recovering from a brain injury. During his time as a researcher at VCU, he developed resilience-based interventions for mental health practitioners to use with couples and individuals after a TBI.

It’s not uncommon for individuals recovering from a brain injury to be told by medical personnel, rehabilitation specialists and others that recovery ceases after a few years. An often-repeated message is that the only gains a person will make after a TBI are those made in the first two years, he says.

Although that may be true for some of the physical aspects of TBI recovery, growth and progress in other arenas — especially the emotional and psychological aspects — can continue for years and even decades, Lukow says. He has seen TBI clients make strides many years after their injury, especially in coming to accept that they may never get some of their abilities back and will need to rely on aids, such as memory reminders, for the rest of their life. Learning and growth can also happen years later for clients related to their social skills and in responding to awkward questions and assumptions made by others. (Lukow explains that these situations occur because TBI is often an “invisible” injury and people misjudge or misunderstand the actions or challenges of survivors because they don’t look disabled.)

Hillel Goldstein, an LPC with a private counseling practice embedded within the Brain Injury Foundation of St. Louis, agrees that recovery can occur long after the period of intensive treatment TBI survivors receive immediately after their injury. Goldstein once counseled a client who developed aphasia (language difficulty) after a TBI. This client, with the help of a speech therapist, was still relearning and mastering new words 10 years after his injury, Goldstein recalls.

“The good news is that brain plasticity is much better than we once thought it was,” Goldstein says. “But people are still told that they have a year to improve or a limited time.”

Asking the right questions

Individuals can experience an array of symptoms and difficulties after a brain injury that dovetail with mental health or the client’s presenting concern in a wide variety of ways. Because brain injury varies from person to person and there is no one concise set of symptoms, professional counselors must know some of the more common symptoms (e.g., memory loss) and — perhaps, more importantly — how to ascertain whether a client may have experienced a brain injury in the past.

Brain injury is nuanced and complicated, and there is a good deal of misunderstanding about it among the general population, Lukow asserts. Clients may come into counseling without realizing that their presenting concern (such as trouble maintaining relationships) could be tied to an unacknowledged brain injury or one that happened in the past.

Lukow points out that a person wouldn’t necessarily have needed to be hospitalized or even received a blow to the head for a brain injury to have serious consequences. A car accident, for example, can cause a person’s head to move so forcefully that the brain impacts against the skull without the head touching any part of the car.

Or clients may not realize that brain injury can be cumulative (e.g., “I had a few concussions back when I played lacrosse …”) and affect them later in life, Lukow says. He advises counselors to ask clients not only if they have had any brain injuries but also whether they have experienced any related issues such as a loss of consciousness, cognitive difficulty, a head or sports injury, or a fall.

Bradham-Cousar, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology at Florida International University, urges counselors to listen for client language that may indicate they have had head trauma, including phrases such as “concussion,” “woke up a little while later,” “unconscious,” “got stitches,” “car accident” and “slipped and fell.”

Past brain injury can cause behavior and other deficiencies that are hard to pinpoint or connect to a diagnosis or for which psychiatric medicine doesn’t seem to help. Bradham-Cousar  provides examples such as a person who has trouble understanding social cues but does not have autism spectrum disorder, someone who has reading difficulties but does not have a learning disorder, and someone who struggles with attention span and focus but does not have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In other examples, an individual may struggle with anger, self-control, problem-solving, object recognition or articulating what they’re trying to say and not realize that a past brain injury could be the root cause, she adds.

Goldstein advises counselors not to overlook issues that the client feels are “minor,” such as a concussion, because these could be contributing to their mental health challenges. Counselors should also be aware that in some cases, TBI can cause violent behavior or the urge to self-medicate with alcohol or other substances. So, Goldstein says, practitioners need to be comfortable screening for substance use and be familiar with the reporting protocol for their state in case a client discloses violent behavior (including when the client is a spouse or a family member of a TBI survivor).

TBI survivors sometimes turn to alcohol or other substances to temporarily escape or “slow down” from impulsivity and other challenges, Goldstein notes. However, “one drink for someone with TBI is not the same as it is for someone without [a brain injury]. Their symptoms will be amplified by any substance use, including alcohol,” he explains. “Brain injury and substance use don’t mix. It’s one of the worst things they can do to themselves, but it’s commonly seen among those with TBI.”

Complicating factors

The counselors interviewed for this article note that TBI can co-occur with common challenges that bring clients into counseling, most notably depression, anxiety and issues that correspond with loss and relationship problems. And sometimes there can be a chicken-and-egg debate about which of these issues came first, which adds a layer of complication for practitioners trying to assess and plan treatment for a TBI survivor in counseling.

For example, isolation, loneliness, and a loss of meaning and purpose — the classic markers for depression — are common after TBI and the related challenges that come with it, Lukow says. 

In these situations, Bradham-Cousar notes that depression is often a secondary diagnosis to a client’s TBI that becomes co-occurring.

At the same time, it’s not uncommon for TBI survivors to be misdiagnosed with a mental illness because some post-injury symptoms can mimic those associated with other disorders, Goldstein adds. Brain injury can cause people to experience hallucinations, hear voices or have severe personality changes, impulse control problems and erratic moods that can resemble mania. This can lead to diagnoses such as personality disorders, psychosis, bipolar disorder or even antisocial personality disorder, Goldstein says.

“I call it [TBI] the great imposter,” Goldstein says. “Mental health [symptoms] are only part of the story. Sometimes it’s the tip of the iceberg, and sometimes it’s not at all what’s going on.”

Because of this, Goldstein recommends that counselors begin work with each client by first ruling out brain injury as the root cause of their mental health challenges. He stresses not to automatically assume that a client’s symptoms are psychiatric in origin. When it comes to mental health diagnoses and TBI clients, false negatives and false positives are very common, he says.

This challenge can be compounded when a client doesn’t recognize or disclose that they’ve had a brain injury (e.g., a concussion that they weren’t hospitalized for), Goldstein says. It’s also likely that the practitioner who referred a client to counseling — whether a medical or mental health professional — hasn’t ruled out TBI as the root of the individual’s symptoms because the connection between brain injury and mental health is simply not on the radar of most professionals.

“Even if a client has a big fat DSM diagnosis, don’t assume, and keep an open mind,” Goldstein says. “I implore [counselors] to rule out brain injury, and even if you think you’ve ruled it out, revisit it. Don’t assume the person that you’re seeing, no matter how they were referred, has a mental health diagnosis.”

Goldstein recommends that in addition to conducting a thorough intake process, counselors screen clients for brain injury by asking for access to their medical records and the ability to confer with the other professionals they are being treated by, such as a neurologist.

“Keep your mind open, and consult, consult, consult with people who are experts in areas that can help you tease apart where these symptoms are coming from,” Goldstein says. “Don’t assume that what you’re seeing is due to a mental health disorder. Your default should be that their brain has been injured.”

Helping clients adjust to loss and change

The crux of what many clients who have experienced a brain injury need in counseling is help adjusting to change and processing loss. Most professional counselors already have an array of tools that can help in this realm, from coping mechanisms and goal setting to the therapeutic relationship itself. 

“Often, they need [empathic] listening from a counselor and a large amount of time just to talk about their situation, what they need and what they’re struggling with,” Lukow says.

Any counseling technique or method that builds coping skills or helps clients deal with life changes and loss would be appropriate and helpful to use with clients who have experienced TBI, Lukow notes. This population may also need grief counseling and help with managing emotions and improving communication and social skills. Seemingly small skills, such as being able to politely ask someone to slow down or repeat themselves when they are outpacing the client’s cognition abilities in a conversation, can go a long way to boost the person’s self-esteem, rebuild their relationships and, in turn, reduce isolation, Lukow says.

Stress recognition and management are also important skills for brain injury clients to learn, Lukow adds. Techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing, muscle relaxation, guided imagery and mindfulness, as well as activities such as walking or exercising, painting, coloring, and listening to white noise or ambient sounds, can help these clients learn to calm themselves.

“[Brain injury] survivors are ‘allergic’ to stress,” Lukow says. “When their stress gets worse, their impairments get worse.”

Occasionally involving a client’s spouse, partner or loved ones in individual counseling sessions can also be beneficial for both parties. They provide comfort and moral support to the client in session, Bradham-Cousar explains, and in turn are better able to understand the client’s needs and therapeutic goals. For TBI clients who struggle with memory challenges, having another person in session can also serve to provide them with reminders of what was said and what was assigned as homework.

TBI clients’ loved ones can also benefit from group counseling. The counselors interviewed for this article agree that the supportive environment that group counseling provides can be extremely helpful for this client population and their family/caregivers. (For more on this topic, read the article “Life after traumatic brain injury: Lessons from a support group.”)

Bradham-Cousar specializes in counseling clients who live with disabilities, including cognitive difficulties from a brain injury, stroke or dementia. A large part of what these clients need, she says, is therapeutic work to move them toward acceptance of the change in their lives, including the things they can no longer do. She often uses cognitive behavior therapy and a working

fran_kie/Shutterstock.com

alliance approach to foster trust with clients who are brain injury survivors and adjust their thought patterns and perspective. Counselors can also help the client see the opportunity to gain new skills; they’re not just losing things but gaining them as well, she says.

Grief counseling and psychoeducation about grief can also help this client population process the many losses they have experienced, including the loss of a part of themselves, Bradham-Cousar adds.

“Counselors can help these [clients] to grow and understand their regenerated self and look at it [through] the eyes of a new opportunity, a new chance. They still have a life to live,” says Bradham-Cousar, a past president of the Florida Counseling Association and the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association. “It’s a transformational process. … They need to move forward to accept that they’re not as they used to be.”

Similarly, Lukow finds that using a solution-focused approach, as well as equipping clients with coping mechanisms and skills that can boost their self-esteem and resiliency, is helpful for clients who have experienced brain injury. For instance, a counselor might suggest that a client who struggles with memory issues set up a “launch pad” — a spot in a visible area of the home, such as a kitchen counter, to keep their keys, wallet and other essential items they need when going out so that they’re less likely to forget or lose them.

Much of this work, Lukow says, is supporting clients as they navigate the learning curve of trying new skills, abandoning things that aren’t working for them and finding solutions and workarounds to live life.

For example, a TBI survivor who is unable to drive may struggle with this loss of independence and feel like a burden for having to ask for rides from others. A counselor can help the client process these feelings so that it’s easier for them to ask for help and find solutions that boost their self-worth.

One such solution could be supporting the client as they learn how to take the bus, Lukow suggests. “Help them find a [bus] schedule and look together, asking, ‘Which stop is closest to your house?’ ‘How much does it cost?’ etc. Something as little as looking up a bus schedule can be a success. And with it, a shift in thinking: ‘Yeah, I can’t drive anymore, but it doesn’t mean I can’t get around.’”

Goldstein notes that motivational interviewing can be useful in helping TBI clients to focus on adjusting to change. Influenced by Irvin Yalom and Viktor Frankl, Goldstein also uses an existential approach to guide clients to make meaning of their new circumstances.

This client population “is searching for new meaning in a hugely altered life. They need to construct new meaning, and it’s sometimes not the meaning that they were hoping to construct,” Goldstein says. “These folks need to adjust to ‘the new me.’ They’re forever changed. As with big changes in our lives that are negative, there’s grief, and if we don’t work through the grief, it metastasizes.”

Language workarounds 

Brain injury often affects a person’s ability to speak. Counselors who work with this population must be knowledgeable of and comfortable using adaptive technology or creative workarounds to communicate with clients who may not be able to respond verbally.

Bradham-Cousar sometimes uses a speech-generating app such as UbiDuo 3 with clients because it allows them to type responses to counseling prompts on a smartphone or other device. She also has an extra keyboard linked to a computer monitor in her counseling office for clients to use to type and display their thoughts during sessions.

Bradham-Cousar suggests that counselors use a collaborative approach by asking clients (during the intake process) to identify adaptive tools or supports they are comfortable using. Counselors can also find information on meeting these clients’ adaptive needs by searching for “brain injury” on the Job Accommodation Network’s website at askjan.org.

In addition to specializing in psychotherapy for brain injury, Goldstein’s subspecialty is helping clients with aphasia. He says that counselors need to be comfortable not only with using different modalities and tools to communicate with TBI clients who struggle with speech but also with long periods of silence in counseling sessions. This can be hard for some practitioners.

Goldstein urges counselors to become sensitive to the wealth of information communicated through a client’s body language and leverage what skills a client does possess. Remember, he says, that these clients have the same range of needs and emotions that verbal clients have; they know what they want to say, but it just won’t come out.

Goldstein sometimes uses a method he calls “facilitated therapy.” He invites another professional who is working with the client (such as a speech and language pathologist) to consult or co-treat with him or come to counseling sessions to serve as a mediator/facilitator until he has forged a bond with the client and learned to “speak their language,” even if it’s nonverbal.

This was the case for one client whose speech was severely limited after his brain injury. However, the client was a gifted artist and would draw pictures during sessions to communicate. When Goldstein began working with this client, he involved the client’s vocational rehabilitation counselor in sessions because she had been working with him for a while and understood the nuances in the way he expressed himself.

“He had his own language,” Goldstein recalls. “He communicated wonderfully; it was just not via speech.”

Once Goldstein established a relationship with this client, they were able to communicate and do one-on-one sessions without the other professional. In addition to drawing and art, the client would play songs he had saved in an extensive library on his phone to express how he was feeling.

Counselors may have to get creative because these clients [can] have speech limitations and cannot do traditional talk therapy,” Goldstein says. “Look for the gifts they have and use it, use it, use it.”

Team approach

Counselors working with clients who have experienced TBI also need to be comfortable reaching out to, consulting with and co-treating with a number of professionals in different fields. Depending on the severity of their injury, TBI survivors may be treated by surgeons, neurologists, speech and language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists, social workers and vocational/career professionals, among others.

Goldstein recommends counselors build connections with a base of these types of professionals in their local area so they can consult and ask questions when facing a challenge or sticking point with a TBI client. When treating clients who have experienced TBI, “don’t fly solo,” Goldstein urges. “In this work, it’s not a two-way street [with other practitioners]; it’s a superhighway.”

The counselors interviewed for this article emphasize that counselors should resist the urge to refer TBI clients to a specialist right away. Counseling this client population can be complicated and challenging and it requires lots of patience, but the empathic listening and supportive relationship that a counselor provides can make a world of difference for these individuals and their families.

Goldstein encourages those counselors who are interested in this client population or who thrive working in multidisciplinary teams to think about specializing in counseling TBI clients. “Brain injury is scary, and it puts a lot of therapists off,” he says. “If you see someone with a brain injury and you’re baffled, pat yourself on the back, because you should be. And if you’re intrigued and interested [in this topic], consider it as a specialty.”

****

Contact the counselors interviewed in this article:

****

Related reading, from Counseling Today:

 

****

Bethany Bray is a senior writer and social media coordinator for Counseling Today. Contact her at bbray@counseling.org.

****

Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

Voice of Experience: The mean dog

By Gregory K. Moffatt May 25, 2022

“When will this go away?” my client asked me.

So many times, I’ve seen the same desperate look in the eyes of clients. With this 45-year-old man, the look was caused by grief at the sudden loss of his closest friend — his father. Every morning after a restless night, he woke only to be greeted by the ever-present hole in his heart created by his loss.

“This kind of pain doesn’t go away,” I said softly. “It fades, but unfortunately, it will always be there.”

And then I shared a metaphor with him that I’ve used a thousand times.

“Suppose you live next door to someone who has a mean dog. Let’s also suppose that you will never move and your neighbor will never move. Wishing for your pain to go away is like wishing for the neighbor with the mean dog to move. It won’t happen.

“But instead of wishing that the dog would go away, we can confront our fear of the mean dog. If we pretend that it isn’t there, it very likely might hurt us if we carelessly stray too close to the property line. But if we are aware of the mean dog and the length of its chain, then it can never hurt us no matter how much it growls or how loud it barks.”

This metaphor works for addictions — the mean dog is the lust for chemicals. Pretending the mean dog isn’t there (or hoping it has gone away) can trick the person to stray too close to the party with alcohol or the reception where former methamphetamine acquaintances are likely to be congregating.

The metaphor works for trauma — the mean dog is the event or the perpetrator. Pretending “I’m OK” can allow the mean dog to slip closer and closer, maybe over years, as the client represses fear, hurt and pain. Then, one day without warning, the mean dog can bite.

The metaphor works for sexual addictions. So many men and women have been drawn into this secretive and shame-laden world under the illusion that “I’ve got this under control.” In the privacy of their homes, they swim in their addictions, sometimes straying too close to the property line. The dog bites in the form of spouses or children who catch them or in the form of illegal activities that land them in jail, forever branded as sexual offenders.

Recognizing the mean dog isn’t novel. The idea has been around in other forms for many years. Alcoholics Anonymous got us started in 1935 with the concept of 12-step programs. The very first step is admitting your powerlessness over the addiction. By admitting one’s powerlessness, in a sense one is admitting that the mean dog will be around for a while — probably forever. I just added the metaphor.

But even before Step 1, we admit who we are. “Hello, I’m Greg, and I’m an alcoholic.” In a way, I’m saying, “Hello, I’m Greg, and I see that mean dog over there. I respect it and know its dangers, but I also know its limitations.”

One last truth about the mean dog: It will never be our friend, but we can co-exist with it. So, in addition to the above, we can vocalize, “Even though I know the dangers of the mean dog, I won’t allow it to cause me to live in fear, shame or pain. I am well aware of my limits and the things that compromise my safety.”

Whether used with a 7-year-old child who has been sexually abused, a 40-year-old man struggling with grief or a middle-aged woman challenged with addictions, this metaphor has been a regular and helpful tool for me.

And one last way to utilize this metaphor: Sometimes we can move away. When we hold on to our resentments and anger and we wallow in our hurts, we are electing to live next to the mean dog when we don’t have to. In such cases, maybe it is within our power to find a quieter place to live.

As for me personally, as may also be true for you, I know the mean dogs in my history, and I practice this myself. I have moved away from the mean dog a few times, but there are other mean dogs that will always be with me. As much as I’d love for the guy with the mean dog to move, I know that in some cases, we are neighbors forever. But as time moves on, the hedges grow taller and the barking gets quieter.

That, my friends, makes for much more peaceful nights and restful days.

Don Agnello/Unsplash.com

****

Gregory K. Moffatt is a veteran counselor of more than 30 years and the dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Point University. His monthly Voice of Experience column for CT Online seeks to share theory, ethics and practice lessons learned from his diverse career, as well as inspiration for today’s counseling professionals, whether they are just starting out or have been practicing for many years. His experience includes three decades of work with children, trauma and abuse, as well as a variety of other experiences, including work with schools, businesses and law enforcement. Contact him at Greg.Moffatt@point.edu.

****

Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

Statement of the American Counseling Association on the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas

May 24, 2022

Today, our nation has begun learning about yet another mass shooting, this time at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults were shot dead by an 18-year-old high school student.

In the days, weeks, months and years to come, professional counselors working in schools and communities will be called upon to help those who were impacted by what our country has witnessed all too many times. These victims were innocent children whose life potential will never be realized. They are gone. And, sadly, we know that the impact on those who were part of their life orbit will also face challenges.

While we expect to hear a renewed debate about the access that people have to guns in our country, there also needs to be discussion, discernment and action focused on societal issues that set the stage for these tragic events. Racism, classism, oppression and the lack of mental health resources are just some pieces of a puzzle that has now led to more than 200 mass shootings in the United States since the start of 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“I’m tired of the rhetoric passed on by political figures who won’t stand up against this violence,” ACA President S. Kent Butler said following the news of the shooting. “I sent my child to school today happy about her excitement to go. Now I’m anxious about sending her tomorrow. We are all forever affected by this madness.”

As an association comprising 58,000 professional counselors, we know that the platitudes of “our hearts and prayers are with you” ring hollow to those who were looking forward to summer vacation, but now must bury their elementary school-age children. Compassion for others and spiritual strength are shared with the best of intentions, however, we also encourage communities and public policy officials to find the internal fortitude that supports and implements what is needed to prevent, rather than always respond to, events that have lifelong and tragic impact.

ACA provides resources to educate counselors and stay vigilant during these horrific times on our website. We also offer resources for counselors and the public to help address all the ripple effects that trauma has on our collective well-being when violence like this occurs.

 

******

If you or someone you know is experiencing mental distress in the wake of the Uvalde tragedy, call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for crisis counseling and other resources.

******

The American Counseling Association offers free resources to help counselors and those affected by mass shootings: https://bit.ly/2HXfH7F

******

Relevant articles from the Counseling Today archives:

Sex-positive counseling

By Lindsey Phillips

Sexuality is a core aspect of the human experience, yet it is often a topic clouded in shame and secrecy. Some people can’t even bring themselves to say the word “sex” out loud, resorting instead to euphemisms such as “the birds and the bees,” “the horizontal tango” or “getting to know someone in the biblical sense.” 

Mental health professionals who consider themselves sex-positive providers are hoping to change the way that people — including other helping professionals — think and talk about sex. In a recent Healthline article, sex educator Goody Howard defined sex positivity as “the idea that people should have space to embody, explore and learn about their sexuality and gender without judgment or shame.” 

Counseling already provides clients with that safe, nonjudgmental space. So, why aren’t more professional counselors talking about sex? 

Steve Ratcliff, a licensed professional clinical counselor in New Mexico and a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Oregon, believes that too often clinicians avoid discussing sexuality and sexual wellness with clients out of their own fear or shame around the topic. Sometimes counselors incorrectly assume that sex is a topic reserved only for sex therapists, Ratcliff says. Although sex therapy does involve talking about sex, it’s much more than that. As he explains, sex therapists are trained to treat sexual disorders and concerns such as vaginismus (i.e., the involuntary tensing or contracting of the vaginal muscles out of fear of vaginal penetration) or erectile disappointment. 

“Some counselors consider talking about sex as tantamount to having sex with the client,” continues Ratcliff, a member of the American Counseling Association. “There’s this fear that if I talk about it, I’m running a risk ethically or in terms of liability. But if there is a significant clinical issue that we’re not addressing because of our own discomfort that might raise a larger liability and malpractice issue — are we not treating a client’s shame just because it’s sexual?”

Clinicians don’t have to specialize in sex therapy to broach the topic of sexual wellness with their clients. “Sexual issues and mental health go hand in hand, and they influence each other in very distinct ways,” says Angela Schubert, an LPC at Brightside Counseling Services in Greenwood Village, Colorado. For example, growing up in a household where homophobia is present could cause stress, especially if one of the family members is attracted to people of the same sex. And someone who lost their partner of 35 years may be depressed at the thought that they will no longer be able to have sex with this person. But as Schubert points out, clinicians don’t often ask or consider how sexuality may play a role in a person’s mental health. 

Clinical sex education (or a lack thereof) 

Ratcliff is a private practice therapist at Liberated Counseling and a sexual diversity researcher at The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (TASHRA). He says broaching sexuality is a skill that all counselors should have, yet most clinicians receive little to no training on the topic in graduate school.

“It is unethical how we approach sexuality in the field of counseling right now,” argues Schubert, an associate professor and director of online learning for the clinical counseling program at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. Only two states — Florida and California — require counselors to take a human sexuality course to be licensed. And human sexuality is mentioned in just two CACREP standards (rehabilitation counseling and marriage, couple and family counseling), she adds. 

On top of that, sex education varies widely in state public schools in the United States, with many providing inadequate information. As of April 2022, the Guttmacher Institute reported that 26 states and Washington, D.C., mandate both sex education and HIV education, and only 18 states require these education programs to be medically accurate. 

“You’re born and raised into an environment where there’s no formal sex education,” Schubert says. “So, you come into the counseling field as a master’s student already with your arm behind your back in terms of your knowledge and understanding of sexuality in a formal way. [However,] what you [do] have … are all these biases, values and assumptions related to sexuality. … And then you have a counseling program that does not require you to take a human sexuality course and may not even address human sexuality. How does this reality align with our ethical obligation to do no harm? We can do much better.”

Ratcliff would like to see CACREP add at least one required course on human sexuality to its standards. “One three-unit course in human sexuality in graduate school is not enough to become a sex therapist,” he says. “But it might be enough to provide a little bit of education, a little bit of exposure to different sexualities and a chance to work on our own stuff [biases] … and give us a chance to grow as well.”

Until that happens, the onus of finding training is placed on the counselor. Ratcliff and Lily Gonzalez, an LPC and sex therapist who is the co-founder of Moving Mosaic Therapy & Counseling in Chicago, suggest that counselors look for trainings through sex-positive associations such as the Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness (ACSSW), which is an organizational affiliate of ACA, and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). In particular, they both recommend attending a sexual attitude reassessment class, which involves process-oriented trainings that challenge attendees to evaluate their own beliefs and values toward sexuality and sex-related topics. These trainings provide clinicians with an opportunity to learn more about sexuality, explore any potential biases or conflicts, and practice their ability to self-regulate when exposed to things outside of their comfort level, Ratcliff explains. 

“You will be triggered” during these classes, Gonzalez says. “But you need to be because you need to know what’s going to trigger you [in session]. You need to understand what your limits and discomforts are and work through those. If we’re not comfortable with our own sexuality, we’re going to be really uncomfortable helping someone navigate theirs.”  

Giving and getting permission 

Consent is a crucial part of not only sex but also sex therapy. Clinicians can underscore the importance of consent by first asking and obtaining the client’s permission to discuss sexuality and sexual behavior, Gonzalez notes. She says that can be as simple as stating, “I’ve noticed you struggling with this problem related to sex. Can we go there?”

Counselors can also broach the topic of sexuality even before meeting clients, says Schubert, co-founder and president of ACSSW. This can be done in how they introduce themselves or through the language they include on their paperwork and intake forms, she explains. For instance, a clinician could note that they are a “sex-positive counselor” on their website. 

Cheryl Walker, an associate professional counselor and sex therapist at GlobeCoRe in Atlanta, creates a safe, welcoming environment in her clinical practice by forgoing binary systems of classification on her intake forms. “Folks who struggle with sexual wellness are [often] fighting these labels that are placed on them,” she observes. She includes blank spaces so clients can fill in how they want to be identified rather than forcing them to check a box, and she makes a point to ask about pronouns.

By engaging in binary thinking (“Are you this or that?”) or making assumptions, “counselors censor and close off conversations that the client either wants to have or needs to have,” says Walker, moderator of the ACA Sexual Wellness in Counseling interest network. “As clinicians, we can make sure we have this open space, this ambiguous space, so that the client can fill in the blanks.” 

Ratcliff, a member of AASECT, often works with sexually and racially diverse populations. He makes it known on his website and clinical paperwork that he is an LGBTQ+, kink-, polyamory- and consensual nonmonogamy-affirming provider and a sex-positive counselor. Using inclusive, affirming language and asking questions about sexuality on intake paperwork will cue clients that the counseling office is a safe place to discuss sex and sexuality, he says. 

Even if counselors are cautious in how they broach conversations around sex and sexuality, mistakes can happen. When they do, Ratcliff advises counselors to take ownership and apologize for their misstep. 

Barriers to sexual wellness

Sexuality is a significant part of who we are as human beings, but it is something that “we’ve been taught to hide, to be ashamed of and to not bring into the room,” Gonzalez notes. She says much of her clinical work involves providing psychoeducation related to the human body, culture and the origins of one’s sexual knowledge. Because counselors are often helping clients navigate something internal and hidden, it is helpful to have a trauma-informed background when doing sex therapy, she adds. 

Ratcliff notes that many people learn about sex from their peers or through the internet or television, and this inadequate education frequently leads to common misconceptions. People may incorrectly assume that older people or people with disabilities don’t enjoy or have sex, for example. 

Any sexual desire or preference that does not align with society’s accepted “norms” often results in feelings of shame, Ratcliff continues. Men may be embarrassed if they enjoy prostate massages because they have been conditioned to believe that the penis is the major sexual organ. And women might not feel the freedom to enjoy their sexuality because, as Ratcliff notes, female sexuality is highly pathologized in American culture. He says it is common for women to report not having an orgasm until much later in life when some of that shame has been dispelled. 

Religion often influences how people view sexuality. Gonzalez finds that it sometimes results in the overlap of sexual shame and self-shame. If someone is taught that being good involves being a “clean,” moral person, then that spills into their perception of their sexual self, she says. As a result, enjoying sex or being aroused by pornography may make them feel like a “bad” person. 

Walker, who is part of the University of Michigan’s sexual health certificate program 2022 cohort, also works with clients who are conflicted about sexuality because of their religious beliefs. Some are taught that touching themselves sexually makes them bad people, so they never learn what feels good to them physically, she says. 

One’s understanding of sexuality is also shaped by media — in this case, referring to all movies, TV shows and social media, not just pornography. Walker points out that television often perpetuates the fallacy that all people are equally desirable and that the path to love is simple — it just requires dinner and flowers, she jokes. So, when people experience in real life that love and sex aren’t simple and straightforward, they often wonder what is wrong with them. 

Counselors will often need to help clients realize how these external and internal factors affect their understanding of sexuality. “People do not often talk about sex,” Schubert observes, “yet it narrates a lot of our worldview, whether it’s something we are conscious of or not.” 

Schubert often has her counseling students and clients explore their sexual scripts — the narratives they have formed about sex based on embedded cultural beliefs, social messaging, biology, personal experiences, and formal or informal education about sexuality. She says counselors can begin to unpack these internalized messages by asking clients questions such as “What messages about sex did you receive as a child? Did anyone say, ‘I love you’? What did you learn about gender roles growing up?” 

Schubert often introduces the concept of a sexual script by having clients visualize it as an umbrella. Sexuality is the tip of the umbrella, and the parts of the umbrella connected to the tip all form one’s sexual script. The umbrella panels represent one’s identities and experiences; the ribs running along these panels are the beliefs, biases and assumptions; and the shorter ribs that hold the umbrella open are one’s values, she explains. 

Schubert, co-editor of the forthcoming Handbook for Human Sexuality Counseling: A Sex Positive Approach, published by ACA, provides a hypothetical example of working with a male client who struggles to say the word “masturbation.” Instead, he repeatedly says “that thing we do” rather than using the word in front of the clinician because he fears they would think less of him if he verbalized it. In this scenario, Schubert would prompt this client to explore the possible reasons behind his hesitation to say sexual words by using the sexual script exercise. She would ask him questions such as “Where did you first learn it wasn’t OK to say masturbation? Did your caregivers ever talk about sex with you? What did your religion or culture say about masturbation?” 

Gonzalez finds the bio-psycho-social model beneficial in helping clients understand the way that their life experiences affect sexual wellness. She explains that clinicians can explore any physical limitations or illness that might be hampering the client’s sexual wellness (biological), the client’s emotional reactions to sexuality such as past traumas or current stressors that affect it (psychological), and societal influences and expectations around sexuality such as the client’s religious views and the gendered roles they were taught as a child (social). 

For example, Gonzalez describes how a Latin American woman who is born into a religious and patriarchal environment may have certain expectations around sex. This woman may feel the need to be chaste in the way she presents herself to society yet also be sexually pleasing to her husband (what is referred to in psychoanalytic literature as “the Madonna-whore complex”). This woman wasn’t taught how to enjoy sex but instead views it as a service or act that she must perform, Gonzalez explains. Applying the bio-psycho-social model would help the client process this internalized messaging around sexuality and allow her to start working on her own sexual wellness, Gonzalez says. 

She finds this model particularly helpful when she’s working with partners who come from different cultures or religions. Counselors can use it to discuss each person’s cultural upbringing and models of love and how this affects what they expect and want sexually from each other, Gonzalez says. 

Reconnecting to our bodies 

One key aspect in helping clients achieve sexual satisfaction is broadening the definition of what sexual wellness means. “Our society has done a really good job of making us think outside our body instead of inside our body,” Gonzalez says. “And we’ve been taught to be performative. We’ve been taught to think, ‘Do I look cute in this [sexual] position? Do I look cute in this outfit?’ and not necessarily [think about] what feels good” and pleasurable. 

Body mapping is a technique Gonzalez uses to get clients out of their heads and back into their bodies. She may ask clients to explore their bodies without sexual intent to really learn themselves better. For example, the next time a client takes a shower, they could be mindful and notice how it feels when the water hits different parts of their body and where they enjoy the sensation more. This could progress to the counselor recommending that they masturbate at home with the same sense of exploration — and without the goal of having an orgasm. The touch doesn’t even have to involve a sexual organ; it could be the simple act of sensually touching their thigh, Gonzalez adds. 

Sometimes counselors must first help clients consider their own emotions, traumas and triggers around sexual pleasure. The body is capable of not only providing pleasure but also holding on to trauma, Gonzalez notes, which can cause certain parts of the body to trigger an emotional response. These bodily responses operate as the body’s “brakes and accelerators of sex,” a phrase Gonzalez credits to Emily Nagoski’s Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life. Environmental factors such as location, music and aromas can also affect how someone responds to sex, she adds. 

“Body mapping can help the person understand where their bodily accelerators … and brakes are,” Gonzalez explains. “We want to avoid the brakes so that they don’t get in the way … and pay more attention to the accelerators, but you can’t do that without knowing your body.”  

Walker says mindfulness and meditation techniques are also great tools to help clients be fully engaged in the present moment rather than focused on life stressors or their own anxieties and insecurities around sexual performance. 

If a woman, for example, is anxious about sexual penetration because of a past sexual trauma or a religious belief that sex is “bad,” then her body may tighten and tense whenever she engages in sexual acts. This action restricts blood flow to the area, Walker says, which will cause further stress and displeasure. A counselor could use mindfulness techniques such as engaging the five senses (what she sees, hears, smells, etc.) to help the client learn to ground herself in the present moment and relax her pelvic area. 

Pathologizing sexuality

Many clients feel particularly vulnerable discussing sexuality, which means it can be easy to hurt or offend them if the counselor’s biases or opinions enter the session. Several clients have told Gonzalez about negative experiences they had when disclosing their sexual practices to other therapists, including one client who was devastated when a clinician stated “You must hate yourself” after learning they were into bondage, discipline, dominance and submission (BDSM). Gonzalez says part of her clinical work involves first healing the trauma caused by such negative or biased comments. 

If a client mentions a sexual practice such as BDSM, then Gonzalez may ask, “What does BDSM mean for you? How does that fit into your life? How do you receive pleasure from it? Is this experience consensual, and do you have a contract that defines the power exchange?” But she never assumes that this sexual experience has anything to do with the client’s reason for coming to counseling.

We have to differentiate between what the client sees as their problem and what we think the problem is,” Gonzalez stresses. 

Unfortunately, value impositions are common when discussing sexuality, Ratcliff says. After all, sex is a topic that often evokes strong reactions — positive or negative — from people. If someone enjoys something that makes the counselor uncomfortable or is outside of their accepted sexual norms, then it may become easier for the counselor to insert their own opinions and thoughts onto the situation, he notes. For example, Ratcliff says, if a clinician is bothered by the thought of a client who says they enjoy being tied up with rope, the clinician may be more likely to infer that the client’s preferred sexual activities underlie why they struggle with assertiveness or why they are depressed. 

Sex positivity requires clinicians to maintain an open mind and be inclusive of all types of sexual expression — even those that shock them. “It’s OK for counselors to have things that ‘ick’ us out,” Ratcliff says. “Our challenge as professionals is to be able to work with people who enjoy those things and regulate ourselves.”

Biases about sex are sometimes written into the theories, approaches and assessments that counselors use. Ratcliff finds that he often needs to tweak or translate his approaches and interventions to fit the needs of his clients. He sometimes uses online relationship psychological assessments such as the Gottman Relationship Checkup, but these are often based on cisgender, heterosexual couples, so they use terms such as “affair” — a word that doesn’t fit or work for clients in a consensual nonmonogamous relationship. In fact, putting forward the concept of having an affair or cheating runs the risk of pathologizing this type of relationship, he says, so he asks clients to replace the word “affair” with “relationship betrayal,” which is a more appropriate and inclusive description. 

Walker advises clinicians to look over their clinical forms, exercises and handouts with a discerning eye to ensure they contain gender-expansive and sex-positive language. This may involve making simple changes such as including examples with the pronoun “they” or using the word “partner(s)” instead of “couple,” she says. 

Readjusting one’s language can also help counselors and clients to shift their mindset and reconsider potential stigmas associated with certain terms. Schubert often chooses to say “sexually explicit material,” for instance, instead of “pornography” because she finds this phrasing helps to remove negative connotations around it and allows clients to discuss — without shame — what materials they are using and how that might be influencing their sexual wellness. 

Boundaries and transference

Establishing clear, healthy boundaries is important in any therapeutic relationship, but it becomes crucial when addressing a topic that many people consider sensitive or taboo. Gonzalez says that clients sometimes ask questions about her sexual life and preferences, such as if she’s queer or polyamorous. She turns this back to the client and asks, “What about that is interesting to you?” This question allows her to gauge if the client is asking out of curiosity, if there is any possible issue of transference at play or if they need to know that she understands them on a deeper level.

Counselors need to be careful in self-disclosing about their own sexuality in counseling, Ratcliff says. He suggests discussing sexuality in a broader, more general sense. For example, the clinician could tell the client, “Some people enjoy this sexual activity” rather than saying, “I enjoy this sexual activity.”   

Ratcliff cautions that counselors should also be mindful of potential power impositions and harm that self-disclosure can cause. For example, a therapist disclosing that they are interested in a particular type of kink to a client who is also into kink can create an implicit power dynamic, he notes. 

Walker acknowledges that it is relatively common for transference to occur when discussing intimate topics but not necessarily for the reason people might assume. It isn’t because sex therapy is filled with salacious talk, she says, but because the counselor is a nonjudgmental person who is affirming all of the client’s strengths and qualities, which may not be acknowledged by others in the client’s life. 

Schubert once had a client admit that they were struggling because they thought that they might be developing romantic feelings for her. Schubert didn’t shy away from the discussion; instead, she asked the client to explain what they were feeling. The client told her that she was the only woman they were able to talk with about such intimate things, and they weren’t sure why they couldn’t say the same things to their partner. Schubert said, “It seems to me that this is the first time — that you’re aware of — where you’ve been able to be fully yourself and be heard. That’s powerful because it shows how courageous you are in your ability to be vulnerable with another person, and specifically another woman.” 

This response helped shift the conversation away from any possible transference or attraction, Schubert says, and placed it back into the therapeutic realm. Then, together they explored what it was like for this client to be heard and whether it was time for him and his partner to go to couples counseling so they could figure out why he was having trouble discussing intimate topics.

By embracing a sex-positive attitude, counselors can help begin to break the silence, shame and stigma surrounding sexuality. Clinicians are “taught so well to meet people where they are in their journey,” Gonzalez says, and sexuality “is just another part of the client’s journey, another part of who they are.

Song_about_summer/Shutterstock.com

 

Sex counseling versus sex therapy

Although the terms sex counseling and sex therapy are often used interchangeably, some mental health professionals note a distinction between the two. “A sex therapist can do more in-depth psychotherapeutic work with a client,” explains Lily Gonzalez, a licensed professional counselor and sex therapist in Chicago, “whereas a sex counselor is more high-level counseling and psychoeducation, but not the deeper psychotherapy, and their work is usually limited in time.”

The Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness (ACSSW), an organizational affiliate of ACA that promotes sexuality as a central aspect of being human, defines sexuality counseling as a professional relationship that aims to do the following: 

  • Help people increase their comfort and awareness of sexuality and sexual experiences
  • Validate sexuality as a core aspect of the human experience
  • Provide evidence-based education regarding sexual health concerns 
  • Support clients as they navigate various influences on their sexuality 
  • Empower clients to express their sexuality while also respecting their own and other’s sexual rights 
  • Promote sexual wellness 

(See ACSSW’s website counselingsexology.com for more on sexuality counseling and sexual wellness.)

The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) distinguishes between AASECT-certified sexuality counselors and therapists. AASECT notes that sexuality counselors come from a variety of professions, including counselors, nurses and clergy, and they help clients resolve sexual-related concerns through problem-solving techniques and psychoeducation. Sexuality counseling is typically short-term care and focuses on the immediate concern or problem. 

AASECT-certified sexuality therapists, on the other hand, are licensed mental health professionals who provide in-depth psychotherapy and have specialized training in treating clients with sexual issues and concerns. They are capable of both treating simple sexual concerns and offering more comprehensive, intensive psychotherapy if needed. 

(For more on the differences between AASECT’s certifications, see aasect.org/certification-types-distinguishing-sexuality-educators-counselors-and-therapists.)

 

****

Resources on sexual health and wellness 

 

****

Lindsey Phillips is the senior editor for Counseling Today. Contact her at lphillips@counseling.org.

****

Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

Counseling after brain injury: Do’s and don’ts

By Bethany Bray May 20, 2022

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is complicated.

Counseling practitioners may work with brain injury survivors who struggle with impulsivity, anger, despair, personality changes, memory loss, language or cognitive difficulties and a range of other symptoms. Not only do post-injury symptoms and recovery differ from person to person but the way these challenges dovetail with their mental health, relationships and overall wellness also varies.

Here are 12 important do’s and don’ts for mental health practitioners to keep in mind when counseling clients who have experienced a brain injury:

 

1) Do devote a lot of time to listening. One of the most important and beneficial things a counselor can offer a brain injury survivor is empathic and nonjudgmental listening. Having a space to talk about what they’re going through and struggling with and what they need without feeling like a burden can make a world of difference for these clients, says Herman Lukow, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed marriage and family therapist who spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow researching TBI at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Traumatic Brain Injury Model System program.

 

2) Don’t equate struggle with resistance. What might seem to be resistant behavior in this client population is often not intentional. They may miss sessions or be hard to contact, but it’s more likely to be caused by the memory and cognitive challenges they live with (e.g., confusing what day it is) rather than resistance, Lukow says.

 

3) Do be comfortable with silence in counseling sessions. Brain injury survivors may struggle with speaking or finding the right words to express themselves. Practitioners need to resist the urge to fill periods of silence, and they may also need to get creative to find other nonverbal methods or adaptive tools to communicate with these clients, notes Hillel Goldstein, an LPC with a private counseling practice embedded within the Brain Injury Foundation of St. Louis.

 

4) Don’t go it alone. Counselors can best treat these clients by collaborating, co-treating and consulting with professionals from a range of other disciplines who have expertise in helping brain injury survivors, including speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation specialists and others, says Goldstein.

 

5) Do adjust your pace and expectations of progress. The therapeutic expectations, outcomes and what can be counted as a “success” will vary with clients who are TBI survivors, notes Michelle Bradham-Cousar, a licensed mental health counselor and certified rehabilitation counselor who recently completed a doctoral dissertation on counseling clients with TBI. The benchmarks or signs that counselors may associate with improvement or growth in clients may not be apparent — or appropriate — with clients who have experienced brain injury.

 

6) Don’t be a cheerleader. Life after a brain injury is hard, and survivors may feel that conversations in counseling only emphasize what they’ve lost, says Lukow. A constant stream of positivity or messages such as “you’ll get through this” from a counselor may turn these clients off; instead, they need honesty from a practitioner and validation that what they’re going through is rough.

 

7) Do ask clients if they’ve ever had a brain injury or related issues such as falls, sports injuries or loss of consciousness. Clients may not disclose past brain injury or realize that it can be connected to their mental health or presenting concern, so it’s important to ask at intake. It’s equally important for counselors to realize that a past brain injury — even if a client doesn’t think it was serious — can lead to or exacerbate mental health symptoms, Lukow adds.

 

8) Don’t forget these clients’ loved ones and caretakers. The mental and emotional burden that comes with caring for a brain injury survivor is heavy, yet caretakers often put themselves last, Goldstein notes. The loved ones of TBI survivors can also benefit from therapy, particularly the supporting environment that group counseling can provide.

 

9) Do dig deep into your counseling toolbox. The crux of what brain injury survivors need in counseling is help dealing with loss and change, says Lukow. And counselors already have an arsenal of tools and methods to help in this realm, from cognitive behavior therapy to the therapeutic relationship itself.

 

10) Don’t think of life after brain injury only in terms of loss. Post-injury recovery is also an opportunity to gain new skills and find new ways of doing things. A client may not be able to work in a job or field they used to, for example, but a counselor can help them reframe this loss as a chance to look for a new occupation that fits with the skills they do have, notes Bradham-Cousar.

 

11) Do consider this as a specialty. There are not many professional counselors who specialize in psychotherapy for brain injury, but it’s an important and much-needed expertise, says Goldstein. It could be a good fit for counselors who are interested in this client population or who thrive working in multidisciplinary teams.

 

12) Don’t assume that recovery ceases within a few years of a brain injury. Survivors can still make gains with emotional, social and psychological challenges long after — even decades after — brain injury, says Lukow, especially when supported by helping professionals who provide patient, empathic care.

 

****

Read more on counseling clients who have experienced a brain injury in an in-depth feature article in Counseling Today’s June magazine.

arloo/Shutterstock.com

****

Bethany Bray is a senior writer and social media coordinator for Counseling Today. Contact her at bbray@counseling.org.

****

Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.