If left untreated these symptoms can lead to a lifelong identity crisis. You may feel overwhelmed by a sense of personal disunity and find yourself at a lost for an explanation that makes sense. At other times you might feel threatened with the loss of your whole being. Such feelings are very common following brain injury. Frequently, your doctor, family, friends, or you yourself, may think that you should see a therapist. 

     There are many types of therapies, and many people who call themselves therapists. You will want to apply the preceding doctor finder chart when searching for the right therapist for you. In addition, you should ask, specifically, which school of therapy he/she subscribes to and which therapeutic approach he/she employs. You should ask questions concerning specific training and expertise relative to brain injury. Other aspects of their expertise and training that you should discuss concern issues of grief and loss, identity and displacement and their relationship to your brain injury. 

      When you seek counseling for the psychological effects of brain injury, you do not simply bring such symptoms with you; you bring your whole life history into the treatment milieu. You may find yourself grappling with the most fundamental questions you can ask yourself. "Who am I now?" "Why am I behaving this way?" "What is the meaning of my new experience?" "How will I survive?" "How long before I recover?" 

    The therapist you choose must be wise and compassionate, and above all, have a profound respect for you and your reality. You should feel comfortable with the therapist and feel secure that he/she is willing to approach your problems with an open mind. He/she, in turn, must be willing to share your pain and experience your confusion. The Doctor Finder Chart covers a number of items you should consider when looking for a therapist. The issue of PSYCHIC PAIN is discussed in detail later in this book. Read it, it may save your sanity. 

     One of the problems created by the proliferation of therapies is that the individual consumer is often at a loss to know what he or she wants, or, more accurately, what technique or approach has any hope of giving the individual what it is that he or she wants. With that in mind, the following is devoted to an examination of some of the more common therapeutic methods. The following list provides brief descriptions of many of the most common types of therapies in practice today.

     One of the problems created by the proliferation of therapeutic methods is that the individual consumer is often at a lost to know what he or she wants, or more accurately what technique or approach has any hope of giving the individual what it is that he or she wants. 

     Research has shown that therapeutic success, to a large degree, is dependent on compatibility factors -- how closely the personality and needs of the client match the personality, needs and skills of the therapist. In other words, no one therapist can be all things to all people. With that in mind the following pages are devoted to an examination of some of the more common methods. Other forms in this section will prepare you to identify compatibility factors. 
 
 

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     People who experience anxiety, insecurity or shyness, and who resist letting others know their feelings are prime candidates for the so-called talking therapies. So, too, are people who have debilitating feelings or problems and can't understand why they can't seem to do anything about them. In these approaches people can move into talking about feelings at their own pace. They also begin to see how their feelings and problems get perpetuated by themselves in ways and for reasons that they are unaware of. 

     Psychodrama nor gestalt therapy would not be particularly suited for a person who insists on remaining in control of the expression of feelings or who wants to move toward his feelings with a gradual pace. Because both of these methods are typically group experiences, they are sometimes seen as too intimidating by those who have avoided emotions or have little or no experience with sharing their feelings with others. 

     Berne developed TA out of a conviction that therapy could be more efficient (faster) than psychoanalysis, and that it didn't have to include so much reconstructive digging into one's childhood. He disliked the fancy. and what he considered confusing, language included in psychoanalysis. The approach that he developed, and that has been popularized through such books as Games People Play and I'm Okay; You're Okay, revolves around a language system that is colloquial, easily understood and allows the individual to do a lot of the work of understanding his feelings and motivations on his own. While TA is usually practiced in groups, it is also used in one-to-one therapy.