Ask, Understand, Adapt: Brain Injury in the Criminal Justice System at One Brain 2025

 

This month, Dr. Annmarie Burns, Brainkind’s Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, is hitting the conference trail with laptop in hand, presenting our research and promoting access to rehabilitation for everyone that needs it.

Dr. Burns kicked things off at the One Brain conference in London, highlighting how Brainkind’s Brain Injury Linkworker Service is working to help people living with brain injuries in the criminal justice system (CJS).

Organised by The Neurological Alliance, the conference brings together professionals from across the field. Dr. Burns spoke alongside the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Lade Smith CBE, and NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Adult Neurology, Dr Niran Nirmalananthan, about integrating neurological and mental health services.

Brain injury in the criminal justice system

Many people don’t realise that the percentage of people living with brain injuries is a lot higher in CJS populations – around 46%. Dr. Burns spoke about her experiences delivering integrated care models across the UK’s prison and probation systems:

“There’s a complex relationship between issues related to acquired brain injury – like increased aggression and reduced inhibitions – and mental health issues”, Dr. Burns said. “This can contribute to poorer engagement in prison rehabilitation programmes and, therefore, increased chances of re-offending”.

Brain injuries in this population often go undiagnosed. This can lead to difficulties accessing the right treatment and support. Dr. Burns recalled that, for many people she worked with, “Brainkind’s Brain Injury Linkworker Service was their first opportunity to talk about brain injury”.

Ask, understand, adapt: the Brain Injury Linkworker Service

The Brain Injury Linkworker service is a good example of how integrating neurological and mental health services into pre-existing systems can work in practice.

Even from conception, Dr. Burns highlighted the scale of the challenge: “It has to work within existing prison and probation systems, fit with commissioners’ requirements, be affordable and sustainable, effectively manage risk and, above all, meet the needs of the people we support.”

Despite that, the Brain Injury Linkworker (BIL) Service does its job brilliantly – in some cases, decreasing adverse incidents involving the people we support by 93%. But how?

· Ask: Ensuring practitioners understand the importance of identifying and supporting those with a brain injury in the CJS.

· Understand: Supporting learners to understand the diverse range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural difficulties experienced after brain injury and their impact on daily functioning.

· Adapt: Providing tools to support practitioners to change their everyday practice to better support those with brain injuries in the CJS.

Collaboration is the key to success

Dr. Burns added that “being fully integrated into prison and probation services is essential to the success of the BIL service”. She further highlighted the importance of “collaborating with the people we support on goal setting to maximise engagement”.

The One Brain conference unites behind the idea that “we are stronger together” – and our collaborative Brain Injury Linkworker Service puts that principle into practice.

If you would like to find out more about Brainkind’s work in the criminal justice system, click here. Or, if you would like Brainkind to share our insights at your conference, please email research@brainkind.org