Family Info

Family Info

Although traumatic brain injury is a major crisis for the individual victim, the ‘ripple effect’ on the physical and psychological well-being of their family members is often ignored – or even denied by the relatives themselves in order to hold back their emotions of panic and despair.

Throughout the stages of adaptation that have to take place within a family where TBI has occurred, role changes become inevitable and the family structure undergoes massive change. Where couples are living together in a stable relationship, the woman will often have to take on the tasks that were previously done by the man in the house.

Parents, who have safely brought their children through childhood and adolescence, may have to start the caring process all over again when a young son or daughter with TBI returns to the family home to be cared for, and it often happens that youngsters in a family have to become the carers of their head injured parent.

There are also major financial consequences attached to TBI, particularly where the injured person has been the sole wage earner. Although compensation awards for TBI have increased in number over recent years, those who are successful are greatly outnumbered by individuals and their families who will have to rely entirely on Social Security Benefits.
In many cases the uninjured partner will be forced to seek full or part-time paid employment, and this necessity creates a new problem - where can the head injured family member go during the day time? Across each of the above situations, the staff and volunteers at the Head Forward Centre can offer practical advice, individual counselling, and a caring environment in which those with TBI can spend some part of the week in purposeful and creative activities.

The Head Forward Centre  programme also makes provision for each attendee (and if required his or her caring relatives) to arrange an individual meeting from time to time with our Centre Manager to discuss specific concerns. For those attendees experiencing problems of a psychological or behavioural nature or difficulties with family dynamics our Programme Director is usually available to offer some expert guidance or advice.