Problem Solving Inventory

Problem Solving Inventory

Brain Injury Resource Center

A service of Head Injury Hotline
Providing Difficult to Find Information
About Head Injury Since 1985
212 Pioneer Bldg.
Seattle, WA 98104-2221
206-621-8558
brain@headinjury.com
http://www.headinjury.com

Problem Solving Inventory

Advocacy Skills

Advocacy Plan

Advocacy Overview

Action Plan

Assertiveness Skills

Assertiveness Plan

Assertiveness Quiz

Decision Making

Fear of Criticism Test

Goal Analysis

Goal Setting

Problem Solving

As You See It

As Others See You

Educational Rights

System Advocacy

Legal Research

You are the best source of information about the problems that have resulted from your head injury. Frequently, you can determine the cause of your problems by being observant and honest with yourself. Once the problem is identified and you choose to be responsible for it, your are well on your way to appropriate self-management, and greater success in life in general..

Below is a list of ways that many people deal with personal problems and life stresses. Effective self-management is dependent on the ability to identify and solve problems. Practices which shift or avoid responsibility for problem solving might hinder your ability to self-manage. The following chart, Problem Solving Skills Inventory, below, will measure your readiness for self-management.

Instructions:

The items below represent ways that many individuals deal with personal problems and life stresses. This inventory was designed to identify your predominant approach to problem solving. It will track the degree to which you have used each of the following thoughts / behaviors in order to deal with your problems. Circle the appropriate response for each question. Never Used is self-explanatory, (Rarely Used is less than 1 per day; Sometimes Used is 1-2 times per week; Regularly Used is 4-5 times per week.)

	Problems	Never	Rare	Some	Regular

1.	Ignored them and pretended they were not happening.	0	1	2	3
2.	Tried to make myself feel better by eating, drinking, smoking taking medication, etc.	0	1	2	3
3.	Counted my blessings.	0	1	2	3
4.	Prayed for a miracle, put it in God's hands.	0	1	2	3
5.	Let someone else handle it.	0	1	2	3
6.	Blamed myself.	0	1	2	3
7.	Criticized or lectured myself.	0	1	2	3
8.	Figured out who to blame.	0	1	2	3
9.	Had fantasies or wished about how things might turn out.	0	1	2	3
10.	Kept my feelings to myself.	0	1	2	3
11.	Talked to someone about how I was feeling.	0	1	2	3
12.	Tried not to act too hastily or follow my first hunch.	0	1	2	3
13.	Asked someone I respected for advice and followed it.	0	1	2	3
14.	Talked to someone who could do something concrete about the problem.	0	1	2	3
15.	Contacted a mental / health / legal professional.	0	1	2	3
16.	Analyzed the problem and changed something so things would turn out all right.	0	1	2	3
17.	Came up with a couple different solutions to the problem.	0	1	2	3
	TOTALS, EACH COLUMN

	A score of 30 - 51 indicates that your approach to problem solving might seriously hinder your efforts toward self-management. You will need to build essential skills before attempting self-management.

	A score of 18 - 29 suggest that you regularly apply critical thinking skills to solving problems. Congratulations, the pages concerned with self-management and self-advocacy will enhance your existing skills. See Toolkit above

	A score of 0 - 17 calls into question the efficacy of your problem solving skills, review the skills that you regularly apply to problem solving and proceed to pages concerning self- management and self-advocacy to build more effective skills. See Toolkit above

National Institutes of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Consensus Statement, October 1998. Print from the Internet, or request your free copy by toll-free telephone 888-644-2667.

Head Injury Hotline: Providing Difficult to Find Information About Head Injury Since 1985

brain@headinjury.com