Rehabilitation following a brain injury does not, and should not, be expected to, follow the usual medical model. When physiologic damage to the brain occurs (e.g., shearing/stretching of neuronal matter, con tusions, ruptured blood vessels, creation of scar tissue, etc.), the damage is usually permanent and irreversible. Rehabilitation, therefore, is the amalgam of remedial interventions that are designed to deal with the residual functional and interpersonal consequences of the brain injury.

Treatment is thus aimed at enabling the individual to regain, to the highest degree possible:

• competence and independence in living arrangements, self-care, and managing one’s personal affairs;
• competence and reliability in relating to others (interpersonal and social adjustment);
• competence and reliability in performing academic and/or work- related activities, which are relevant to determining future vocational/ academic poten tial;
• a stable emotional adjustment to the disability, including the calm acceptance of the permanence of one’s brain injury, a positive, hopeful outlook on the future, and the improve ment of one’s self-esteem.

The Brain Injury Day Treatment Program addresses systematically and in an integrated fashion, the cognitive remedial, behavioral/emotional, interpersonal, and vocational aspects of the neuropsychologi cal rehabilitation of the brain-injured individual.

The Theraputic Milieu Setting
The program is conducted as a therapeutic community. This creates conditions that facilitate the functional rehabilitation of the individual. It provides:

• a safe and structured environment which optimizes learning;
• a supportive peer group to help individuals learn to modify maladaptive behaviors, practice newly acquired compensatory strategies, build empathy for others and adopt realistic expectations;
• involvement of significant others to achieve the desired transfer of learning from the remedial setting (program) into functional life.

Treatment is on an outpatient basis, Mondays through Thursdays, from 10am - 3pm. The treatment cycle is 20 consecutive weeks, for a total of 400 hours; there are two cycles per year (September-February and March-July). There are three phases of treatment: intensive remedial; pre-vocational/ work trial; and follow-up. Significant others (e.g., parents, spouses, siblings) are required to participate regularly.

Staff
The program staff, under the leadership of Yehuda Ben-Yishay, Ph.D., consists of 2 Senior Psychologists, 5 Resident Psychologists and 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. The patient to staff ratio is 2:1 (there are 12-15 patients per treatment cycle).

Admission Criteria
The program serves individuals, age 18-65, with mild to severe acquired brain-injuries of differing etiology (e.g., open/ closed head injuries, strokes, aneurysms, tumors, post- encephalopathies). As patients require sufficient stamina for a 5 hour treatment day, participants are post acute or several months to several years post-injury or illness. Importantly, all participants must be capable of voluntarily committing to the 20-week cycle and willing to have their significant others become partners in the rehabilitation endeavor.

Referral Process
A physician referral is required for both a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and intensive neuropsychological rehabilitation if indicated. Fees for assessment and treatment are available upon request. Patients from out-of-state or abroad will be helped to find accommodations. Click here for the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program referral form.