What is the role of a rehabilitation center for people with TBI?

This was the question that was floating on my mind while I was heading to the Headway Centre.

First, as a center: there’s a bright and dark side to the institution model from the perspective of the user. In one hand, centers are usually better prepared and count with more resources than probably would be accessible to the person otherwise, in one centralized location; users can socialize and get to know each other with plenty of time. On the other hand, institutions are often the only option. Some persons may not necessarily want to go there, but when  find themselves in need after an unfortunate event, going to an institution may effectively be the only way to get certain service (e.g. palliative care, mobility assistance). On top of that, centers are often run by efficiency concerns: sometimes they fall into high ratios of users per staff, limited privacy, activities and services being scheduled and not up to the user’s will, and the user may feel forced to socialize with or when they don’t want to. Alienation may occur if the user tries to facilitate how things operate, putting himself, his autonomy and agency last for the common good. This is a pressing issue when instead of being a temporary situation (e.g. hospital, drug center) the user has a profile that makes that likely to be a long-term situation –e.g. older adults, persons with intellectual disabilities, terminal illnesses, and maybe TBI survivors.

Second, what is rehabilitation for TBI? As far as I’m concerned, there’s not much known about which exercises or therapies may help recover function. On top of that, TBI survivors have a very heterogeneous range of abilities and impairments, so it was hard to imagine which group activities may be conducted and how could they lead to a progressive recover of function, if such thing is possible.

I was thus curious how the Headway Center would deal with these concerns.

After being there, my impressions are positive. The centre is rather small, and run in a drop by basis when they wish –-like a place where to hang out! There’s no obligation to participate in particular activities; and users have some degree of active role in, for instance, taking care of the common areas, making a tour for new volunteers like me, providing input, and especially caring about one another. This makes it feel like it is not only Headway’s, but their center, and they made one in which the environment feels very positive and welcoming, a safe space. I believe the staff contribution has been essential to get to this. As for rehabilitation, I think there must be something good about keeping oneself busy with different activities, especially if perspectives on finding a suitable employment are limited.

I wonder if there are other centers for TBI survivors, and how they operate. Does anyone know?