Trauma and the Brain (TBI) Traumatic Brain Injury & Substance Use
This course was created and provided by the Virtual Center of Excellence (VCE), a former project of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN). Content and format will be updated in the near future to address current accessibility standards. If you are unable to access the content in this section, please contact the imp support team for assistance.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Substance Use (SU), by Carolyn Lemsky, Ph.D., C.Psych., may be watched independently of our other offerings on the topic of TBI. The following topic areas are covered within this course: (1) problematic substance use and its relationship with traumatic brain injury; (2) how to talk about the risk of substance use after traumatic brain injury; (3) screening for problematic substance use; and (4) models of care for co-occurring brain injury and substance use.
Defining Substance Use and Abuse After a Traumatic Brain Injury
This course has been designed for those behavioral health professionals working with clients that have suffered a traumatic brain injury. This course will discuss the differences between substance use and substance abuse in regards to those TBI clients.
Communicating Substance Abuse with TBI Clients
As a behavioral health professional, communicating information that best supports client treatment is inherently important. This course provides best practices for communicating the warning signs of substance abuse to this cohort.
Screening for High-Risk Use with Clients
This course has been designed to provide the participants with information regarding how to screen your clients for potential high-risk substance use. This course will provide evidence-based best practices for identifying high-risk behavior.
Co-Occurring Disorders
Although covered in other courses, this course provides additional information regarding co-occurring disorders with clients that have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Unlike other courses, this course focuses primarily on substance use disorder (SUD) with TBI clients.
According to some statistics, brain injury survivors are twice as likely to have abused alcohol/substance prior to their injury and up to 20% of survivors will develop a substance use disorder after injury.
- Define problematic substance use and how it relates to TBI.
- How to talk with clients about the risks of substance use after brain injury.
- How to screen for problematic substance use.
- Review models of care for co-occurring brain injury and substance use.
Dr. Carolyn Lemsky
Clinical Director at Community Head Injury Resource Services (CHIRS) of Toronto-Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Dr. Carolyn Lemsky is a neuropsychologist with 20 years of experience working in rehabilitation settings in the US. and Canada. For the past 14 years she has been the Clinical Director at Community Head Injury Resource Services (CHIRS) of Toronto-Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funded agency designed to promote community re-integration of persons living with the effects of acquired brain injury. CHIRS is also home to an active clinical research program related to co-morbid mental health and problematic substance use. For the past five years she has been the director of the Substance Use and Brain Injury (SUBI) Bridging Project. In that role she has provided leadership on the SUBI Research to Practice Network, and for the past year the mental health and brain injury partnership with Reconnect -- projects funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. Over the past five years, the SUBI team has conducted cross training workshops and seminars with over 2,000 service providers in addictions and acquired brain injury. Current projects include the development of a manual for families, a Brain Injury Screening program implemented at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health and a Treatment and shared care pilot programs.
Course Progress
Course Content
What People Are Saying
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