My objective in the long term is to provide therapeutic and counseling services that assist persons suffering with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or acquired brain injury (ABI) in coping and recovering from the mental illnesses that often accompany such tragedies. TBI/ABI has shown a proven link with “anxiety, depression, personality changes, aggression (National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans Resource Center May 8, 2009 Traumatic Brain Injury)”, as well as many other issues. As the caregiver for a survivor of a rare and deadly strain of encephalitis, I have a personal perspective that I feel brings much to the discussion. I see the information I am currently gathering at Empire State College as the building blocks that pave the way to a thrilling career in a growing segment of the mental health industry. The CDC claims that approximately 1.4 million Americans suffer TBIs annually (Centers for Disease Control Injury Center May 30, 2007 Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths) and it has been called the “signature injury” of the current wars in Iraq & Afghanistan by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As such, it is my belief that we need to focus time and energy on developing new programs to help these patients to cope with the new limitations and encourage rehabilitation and restoration. The first step in my plan is to obtain a Bachelor’s in Science concentrated in Psychology to enhance my knowledge of the world and how we interact with it while building a foundation in the professional and technical skills needed as I continue my education at the graduate level. A science designation will allow me to focus up to 50% of my attention toward both experim... ... middle of paper ... ...ch environment filled with opportunity and funding when the time comes. I thank Empire State College for the role that they are playing in this process and hope to complete our relationship with the expected degree and foundation. References Cited: Centers for Disease Control Injury Center May 30, 2007 Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/tbi_in_us_04/tbi_ed.htm Cohen, David 2012 Freud On Coke National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans Resource Center May 8, 2009 Traumatic Brain Injury retrieved from http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=Traumatic_Brain_Injury Walker, Lucy The Crash Reel 2013 Wegenek, Amira & Buskist, William 2010 The Insiders Guide To The Psychology Major: Everything You Need To Know About The Degree And The Profession APA
The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease attributed to single, sporadic, or repetitive brain trauma, including concussions and subconcussive hits (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013). This disease was originally referred to as dementia pugilistica, and nicknamed “punch drunk,” because individuals suffering from this disorder would present symptoms that were similar to someone’s mannerisms while being intoxicated (Wortzel et al., 2013). This “drunken” behavior is thought to be attributed to the cognitive, mood, and behavioral alterations as a result of the repetitive hits to the brain over an extended period of time. Because individuals suffering from this disease are often exposed to conditions that allow them to sustain blows to the head multiple times, the populations most often examined in these studies are athletes (football, boxing, rugby) and/or individuals in the military (McKee et al., 2009). Individuals can be symptom free for several years (Baugh et al., 2012). The onset of symptoms are sometimes seen about eight to ten years after an individual retires from their sport, which roughly equates to someone aged thirty to fifty yeas old (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013; Karantzoulis and Randolph, 2013). As with all diseases, symptoms can range from mild to severe. Researchers have found a positive correlation between the number of brain injuries sustained during a length of time playing a sport and the severity of symptoms (McKee et al., 2009).
Children who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury might suffer from learning disabilities as a result of their injury.
A survey of OEF/OIF Veterans identified major rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol-related problems, social and family problems, and suicidal behavior. However the most alarming statistic is not about deployment rates or rates of diagnoses, the most alarming fact is that fewer than 10% of those diagnosed with PTSD or depression have received the recommended the mental health treatment upon re-integration into society. The dropout rate at the Veterans Association (VA) PTSD clinics is distressingly high as well when looking into VA records it was found that 68% of OEF/OIF Veterans dropped out of their prescribed counseling and programs prior to completion (Garcia et al., 2014). Because most of these men were deployed mul...
McKinley, J. and Fryer, D. (2004), Higher Psychology: Approaches and Method. KEEGAN, G. (2002) Hodder and Stoughton, London, 298 pp
A Traumatic Brain Injury is defined as a disruption to the normal functioning of the brain. It is damage caused by external forces whether a blow, a jolt or a penetrating head injury; something happens to the brain, due to a blocked vessel, swelling, or an infection in the brain. Brain injuries can be open or closed. A brain injury is open when something from the outside penetrates the skull. A closed head injury can be a blunt blow to the head but can also be rapid changes of skull motion e.g., violent shaking forces, a contact injury with a windshield etc.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD Home." National Center for PTSD. VA Health Care, 1 Jan.
Necessary Behavioral Mental Health intervention does not end at the point first responders have successfully contained the actual crisis. The ongoing need for Behavioral Mental Health services will continue for an extended length of time when a traumatic event such as that depicted in the scenario occur. A copious number of individuals will have ...
Brain trauma also called Traumatic brain injury is an international cause of concern on the health desk. Traumatic brain injury is considered a global epidemic of the twenty first century in the mould of malaria and HIV/AIDS. As one of the leading causes of death and disability in children and adults in their most productive years, it causes major economic and social costs and imposes considerable demands on health service provision. Brain trauma can be classified as mild, moderate or severe depending on whether injury causes unconsciousness, how long the unconsciousness lasts and the severity of the injury. In this paper the writers will closely look at the causal factors of the brain trauma like falls, motor vehicles crashes and traffic related accidents, interpersonal violence, sport and recreational related injuries, anorexia and the effects like Alzheimer diseases, behavioural effects, cognitive effects, perceptual effects and physical effects.
Phineas Gage, a 25 year old construction worker is known as one of the most famous patients that suffered from a traumatic brain injury. While working at a railroad site, an iron tamping rod (43 inches long, 1.25 diameter) went through his left cheek, through his brain, and out the skull. He surprisingly ended up surviving this traumatic injury. After a month in the hospital, he was back out on the street. Once a nice, caring person, Phineas turned into an aggressive man who could not even keep a job. Just like Phineas Gage, a TBI can potentially change everything. Brain studies on traumatic brain injuries are increasing every year. Even though the brain is very functional, brain injuries can have many physical, emotional, social, and economical effects.
Baird, A. A. (2011). THINK Psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. (pp. 264-275).
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2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Traumatic Brain Injury & Concussion. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from
Boyd, D., Wood, E.G., Wood, S.E. (2014, 2011, 2008). Mastering the world of psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 128-129, 329-330, 335-340. Print.
Throughout this course I have learned a lot about psychology. I will talk about how it affected me personally, socially, organizationally/societal, and the lasting impact it had in my life.