Narrative Approaches to Brain Injury

This book brings together narrative approaches and brain injury rehabilitation, in a manner that fosters an understanding of the natural fit between the two. We live our lives by narratives and stories, and brain injury can affect those narratives at many levels, with far-reaching effects. Understanding held narratives is as important as understanding the functional profile of the injury. This book explores ways to create a space for personal stories to emerge and change, whilst balancing theory with practical application. Despite the emphasis of this book on the compatibility of narrative approaches to supporting people following brain injury, it also illustrates the potential for contributing to significant change in the current narratives of brain injury.

This book takes a philosophically different approach to many current neuro-rehabilitation topics, and has the potential to make a big impact. It also challenges the reader to question their own position, but does so in an engaging manner which makes it difficult to put down.

There is a thread to the internal narrative of the book as a whole. It begins with an exploration of narratives within brain injury broadly, then moves to considering professional interactions with those narratives. Once the context has been set, the authors move to look at focusing clinical work through goal-setting, and thinking about the issues clinicians or therapists might meet, such as trauma, communication difficulties, working with carers, families, and other forms of indirect work. It concludes with a chapter looking at the journey of our work through the process of gathering outcome evidence.