Rehabilitation and Work Integration after Mild to Moderate Brain Injury. A Combined Programme Fascilitating Awareness and Transference
Presentation no. 5: Rehabilitation and work reintegration after mild to moderate brain injury. A combined programme facilitating transference of insights.
Abstract
Objective:
The Rehabilitation Center of Head Injury in Aarhus will present methods and results from a rehabilitation programme closely combining the holistic approach with work/study integration.
Method:
All participants in the programme have mild to moderate brain injury and they have explicitly stated their desire to return to work after their injury. Generally they will receive individual and group training/counselling two days a week for a period of four to five months, during which period they also initiate a process of work reintegration. After the training period they increase their worktrial in an manner which is continuously coordinated by the center, the client and the workplace. After approximately one year the clients will end their contact with the Rehabilitation Center and continue working.
The rehabilitation program is called “The Flexible Program” to emphasize that the combination of work and training is organized specifically to meet the needs in each individual case. For some clients contact to the employer is made as soon as they enter the programme. For other clients, who might have been unemployed at the time of injury or who may have lost contact to their workplace as a result of the brain injury, training and clarification of possibilities and individual preferences precede contact with a possible future workplace.
The methods of systematic integration of experiences and knowledge from the training and the work setting will be presented. We shall emphasize the importance of explicit transference of insights for a successful return to work or study after brain injury.
Results:
Results show that of the 47 clients that completed the program in 2001, 2002 and 2003 32% returned to ordinary work, 51% returned to work with financial support to the salary, 8,5 % began a course of further education, and 8,5 % received at social pension.
Conclusions:
At the congress the vocational status of the same clients in a 2005 follow-up will also be presented.