Supporting people with brain injuries and neurological conditions to thrive

On 16 July, Brainkind hosted the first in a new series of webinars designed to highlight the services we provide for people with an acquired brain injury and complex neurological conditions. We wanted to describe our clinical pathway and the benefits of our neurobehavioural approach for the people we support to help more people find the right service to meet their needs.

From local beginnings to national impact

Jenny Woodgate, our Clinical Lead Physiotherapist, began the session. She traced the history of Brainkind from its beginnings as the Disabled Housing Trust, through its expansion in the 1990s into brain injury rehabilitation as the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT), to the national network of services it is today.

Throughout these changes, our approach has remained constant: meeting each person’s individual needs, with integration between the people we support and their communities, and a strong emphasis on independence.

Jenny also described Brainkind’s focus on continuous improvement in its services to support as many people as possible. That’s why we’re investing in research as well as advocacy through our Policy and Social Change team. Together, we have been developing innovative ways of supporting people with brain injuries within the criminal justice system and in services for survivors of domestic abuse.

Unpacking neurobehavioural therapy

Our Clinical Director, Professor Rudi Coetzer, explained the key principles of neurobehavioural therapy, and debunked some of the myths often associated with this model.

For example, neurobehavioural therapy is grounded in behavioural change principles. These are relevant to any new learning and also important in the rehabilitation of people with a brain injury, regardless of whether they present with behaviours of concern, such as aggression, or whether the person’s ability to plan and monitor their behaviour is impaired.

This approach is beneficial in these circumstances because it addresses how people learn new skills, especially how learning happens after a brain injury. However, those who do not have these difficulties may also benefit.

Finally, this approach is not only for the ‘walking wounded’. Physiotherapy is one of the disciplines within our multidisciplinary clinical teams. Adopting a neurobehavioural approach often supports those with physical impairments because, by working

together, the team can find ways around cognitive or behavioural barriers to participating in rehabilitation, including physical rehabilitation.

Helping people to live more independent lives

Sara Goldstone, our Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, concluded the session. She shared examples of how, by embracing the interdisciplinary nature of the neurobehavioural approach, and combining it with a range of technologies, the people we support can become more independent and increase their participation in roles that are meaningful to them, including returning to work.

We are grateful to all attendees for their interest in learning more about what Brainkind has to offer, and hope that the session was useful to all. Don’t forget to check our website or follow us on social media for more webinars about our services and our research and social change work.

If you would like to make a referral to our services, please visit brainkind.org/referral, call 0330 0581 881 (standard landline charges), or email brainkind.referrals@nhs.net.