The mission of the California Neuropsychoanalysis Research Group is to incorporate a psychoanalytic model into the treatment of TBI and to research the co-incidence of TBI and PTSD. We are committed to establishing a setting in which individual treatment, education, and research into the outcome of a long-term analytic treatment for TBI can take place. Our purpose is to reach those who suffer traumatic brain injury and often “fall through the cracks” of institutional treatment and to provide a long-term psychodynamic treatment that will help create the capacity for TBI patients to reconstruct their lives. We are dedicated to creating a new perception of the TBI patient and to add to research into the dynamics and treatment of traumatic brain injury, with particular emphasis on TBI in active combat veterans, and the post traumatic stress injury that often accompanies TBI.
Current estimates state that at least 5.3 million Americans have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI. These individuals and their families are often faced with challenges, such as improper diagnosis, inability to access support or rehabilitation services, institutional segregation, unemployment, and being forced to navigate complicated and cumbersome service and support systems.
As with other medical disorders, the complications of traumatic brain injury cognitively, socially and physically, are often invisible and untreated. This can lead to major depression, alcohol abuse, narcotic addiction (often beginning with pain medication), job loss, family dissolution, homelessness, violence toward self and others, and incarceration. We may be able to prevent these complications if we foster an interdisciplinary system that includes a psychodynamic approach to recovery.
TBI is not just a medical issue. A TBI can affect every aspect of a person’s life (e.g., education, employment, social and family relationships, emotional health, and mobility). As a result, individuals and their families must often find and gain access to an array of services. Dr. Harold Kudler, Mental Health director for the Department of Defense, states that because individual needs are different and can change over time, it is important that systems provide person-centered services and supports. In other words, service systems should be flexible enough to meet the unique needs of individuals and their families. Unfortunately, few systems are equipped to provide this form of person-centered service. A psychodynamic approach brings a person-centered perspective to TBI recovery. Psychoanalytic insights applied to traumatic brain injury recovery can assist the practitioner in understanding, relating to and treating traumatic brain injury patients, regardless of clinical setting.