Traumatic brain injury (TBI) contributes to global mortality and disability more than any other traumatic injury. Individuals who sustained a TBI undergo profound changes in their cognitive, physical, and emotional functions. Noticeable behavioral changes include irritability, aggression, low self-awareness, impulsivity, rumination, and more. These contribute to the individual's inability to control emotions and thus participate in interactions and activities, naturally influencing the person, their environment, and the community.
While traditional therapy approaches are beneficial for some of the mentioned challenges, extensive evidence shows that emotional regulation is not effectively addressed, often resulting in behavioral outcomes in the therapeutic environment alone. Mindfulness interventions focus on the present moment's thoughts, sensations, and surroundings with an open and curious mindset, helping participants cope with stressors that often lead to anxiety and problematic behavioral patterns. Nevertheless, the standard Mindfulness does not accommodate the TBI-related challenges.
Cultivating Awareness by Living Mindfully (CALM), is a Mindfulness-based group intervention for adults who sustained a TBI. It aims to increase self-awareness and improve emotional regulation by practicing mindfulness techniques and implementing them in everyday activities and interactions. This 12-week program is low-cost and easily applicable to a variety of practice and community settings. The program incorporates principles from the latest evidence-based therapy approaches and is designed specifically to accommodate TBI-related challenges. The theoretical foundations consist of complementing knowledge bases including Mindfulness, the occupational therapy framework - the multi-context approach, and brain-based learning, which are principles from the latest research on optimizing learning for this population. This combination of frameworks aims to makes Mindfulness and its many associated health benefits accessible for individuals post-TBI. This doctoral paper includes a plan for program evaluation, funding, and dissemination
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43046 |
| Date | 21 September 2021 |
| Creators | Segal, Adi |
| Contributors | Gafni-Lachter, Liat, Jacobs, Karen |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
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