Cognitive Therapy Basics

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can cause about a lot of speech and language disorders that would entail the need of speech therapy. That’s why the role of speech therapy in the rehabilitation process of a traumatic brain injury patient is very vital.
TBI Speech And Language Problems
A person may have loss of consciousness after a traumatic brain injury. This loss of consciousness can vary from seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or even years. The longer you are out of consciousness, the more severe your injury is. After a traumatic brain injury, you may suffer secondary consequences, which are considered to be more lethal and dangerous than the primary injury.
Some of these secondary consequences include damage to your brain’s meninges, traumatic hematoma, increased intracranial pressure, herniation, hyperventilation, ischemic brain damage, and cerebral vasospasm. When these brain damages occur, they tend to affect parts of your brain that are responsible for speech and language processing and production, thus you get speech and language problems.
Traumatic brain injuries can cause you permanent or temporary memory loss, orientation problems, lesser cognitive performance or slower processing of thought, attention problems, deterioration of skills in basic counting, spelling and writing. You can also have Aphasia, where you have a loss of words.
Traumatic brain injury can also cause you difficulty in reading simple and complex information. Your naming skills, of everyday seen objects, familiar others can also be affected. It can also bring about dysarthria, or problems with movement, that can cause you to have shaky movements leading to difficulty speaking and writing.
Speech Therapy For Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
Treatment for traumatic brain injury patients can be classified into three categories. There are different treatments for early, middle and late stages of a traumatic brain injury. There are also compensatory strategies taught for a TBI patient.
Early Stage Treatment
Treatment during the early stage of a traumatic brain injury would focus more on medical stabilization. A speech therapist would also deal more on establishing a reliable means of communication between the patient and the therapist. The patient is also taught how to indicate yes or no, when asked.
Another goal is for the patient to be able to make simple requests through gestures, nods, and eye blinks. The behavioral and mental condition of the patient is also treated. During the early stage, sensorimotor stimulation is also done. Where in the therapist would heighten and stimulate the patient’s sense of sight, smell, hearing and touch.
Middle Stage Treatment
The main goal during the middle stage treatment is for the patient to develop an increased control of the environment and independence. The adequacy of patient’s interaction to the environment is also increased. The therapist should also stimulate the patient to have organized and purposeful thinking. The uses of environmental prompts are to be diminished during this phase.
A lot of activities focusing on cognitive skills like perception, attention, memory, abstract thinking, organization and planning, and judgment, are also given.
Late Stage Treatment
During the late stage of treatment, the speech therapists goal is for the patient to be able to develop complete independence and functionality. Environment control is eliminated and the patient is taught compensatory strategies to cope with problems that have become permanent.
Some of these compensatory strategies are the use of visual imagery, writing down main ideas, rehearsal of spoken/written material, and asking for clarifications or repetitions when in the state of confusion.

Unfortunately, many of us feel as if we are on the verge of burnout. We feel as if we have to worry about our children, our jobs, and our relationships.At times, we may feel as if we are spinning out of control.
It is as if we are engaging in a high wire act without a net. We become frustrated and angry with ourselves because we don’t think we’re achieving our potential. We can literally become lost in a sea of worry.
At one time, seeking therapy for such feelings of anxiety would have been considered socially unacceptable. A few decades ago, many people considered therapy to be an indulgence.
Mental health counseling had an incredible stigma attached to it. However, today we see celebrities including Brooke Shields, Anne Heche, Marie Osmond, and Jane Pauley who speak openly about seeking counseling for their problems.Cognitive Behavior Therapy is no longer considered the domain of the crazy and the weak.
Therapy can come in a variety of forms. It can involve face-to-face counseling, self-help books, CDs, and online forums. It has been said that there are as many as 100 therapy programs on the market today.
These programs share some common traits. First, they assess how the individual is thinking and identify any disruptions in thought patterns. It is important to get these thoughts out into the open in order to deal with them effectively.
Second, the programs attempt to figure out an individual’s basic beliefs and whether these beliefs are founded on reliable principles. Say, for instance, you become anxious about flying.
Through talk therapy, it is determined that this fear can be traced back to your concerns about your grandmother, who once had an unpleasant flying experience en route to Oklahoma.You might have been worried about your grandmother’s safety and that, in turn, has led to an irrational fear of flying.
The next step is to gather evidence in order to combat negative thinking. For instance, you might look for a statistic indicating how many crashes a given airline has during a year.
When you discover how infrequently accidents occur, your belief that flying is dangerous may be thrown out the window. The one sure-fire way to fight negative thinking is to counteract it with reliable facts.
Another technique you can use to combat anxiety is to develop coping mechanisms. In other words, in order to not let your worry get the best of you, you might try prayer and meditation, exercise, dancing, reading a good book, or soaking in a hot tub.
You should keep a list of relaxation techniques handy so that you can turn to them any time you are feeling particularly stressed out.You will have to get into the habit of relaxation. This can be quite difficult, especially for those with high-stress jobs. You may even consider taking a class in relaxation techniques. Once you utilize these techniques, you are likely to find yourself better able to concentrate better able to manage your feelings and better able to cope.
Literally millions of people have been assisted through cognitive behavioral therapy. While herbal remedies and prescription medications can alleviate symptoms, they do not address the root causes of anxiety. Until we begin to think positively, we cannot hope to attack the crux of our anxious feelings.
How do you find the therapist that’s right for you? To begin with, consult some of your trusted friends. Chances are someone in their families has been to a counselor within the past six months.
You’ll want someone who is easy to talk to, with whom you can share your innermost thoughts and feelings. If you try a therapist and you feel uncomfortable, by all means switch to someone else.Sometimes, finding the right counselor is a matter of trial and error.
Going through therapy can be a tough experience. You may have to delve into areas that you find to be uncomfortable. But it can be highly rewarding in the end.
You may find that you gain greater insight into your thought patterns, that you are better able to communicate effectively, and that you are feeling much less anxious. There is no reason to apologize for undergoing therapy. Seeking help is actually a sign of strength.