Spinal Cord Injury Case Studies

A person who has a spinal cord injury on average experience higher levels of distress and lower levels of life contentment equaled to the general population. Individual ability to adapt to an SCI vary from person to person, but eventually most people will adjust well to their condition. Spinal cord injury is an immense assault on the mind as well it is to the body. Image being active and independent then suddenly you lose the independence due an accident. You lose the ability to control bowel and bladder, sexual and other bodily functions. Then become dependent on others to meet the most basic needs to care for self. The effects of an SCI results in total disruption of the victim's life, and the beginning of a life-long psychological adjustment process. The …show more content…
Being sensitive to the patients' emotional state allows for treatment planning and collaboration that make the most of the physical and psychological rehabilitation. Psychological Rehabilitation begins soon after in¬jury usually while the patient is still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This is a critical time for an SCI patient, during this time the patient is intu¬bated and cannot verbally communicate. The SCI patient can experience disorientation, depression, and anxiety, sensory and sleep depriva¬tion, this condition or state is known as "ICU psychosis." This is the time a team member of the team need to offer emotional support, establish a communication method and determine what the patient wants to know regarding his injury. The patient may require detailed information about their injury and care to best cope with their psychology state of mind or patient may want to delay knowing about their condition due to fear. Some SCI patient seeks reassurance in knowing that their emotional re¬sponses and concerns are normal responses after a tragic event. As the patient progresses from acute care into the rehabilitation setting, psychotherapy sessions need to be sched¬uled on regular