What Happens to Family After Brain Injury

Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, PhD, ABPP, is the Rosa Schwarz Cifu Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Medical College of Virginia Campus. There, he is also a professor of Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Dr. Kreutzer serves as Director of Virginia's federally designated Traumatic Brain Injury Model System and coordinates VCU Health System outpatient services for families and persons with brain injury. For the last two decades, he has been active in implementing empirically based vocational rehabilitation, psychological support, cognitive rehabilitation, and family support programs. Dr. Kreutzer has co-authored nearly 150 peer-reviewed publications, most in the area of traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation. Co-Editor-in-Chief of the international journals Brain Injury and Neurorehabilitation, he has also published a dozen books focused on topics including vocational rehabilitation, community integration, behavior management, and cognitive rehabilitation. Currently, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the soon to be published by Springer, New York, Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology.

Taryn M. Stejskal, PhD is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) postdoctoral research fellow at Virginia Commonwealth Medical University (VCU) in the division of neuropsychology in the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM& R). She received her masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) as well as her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). At present, Dr. Stejskal is the family support and education coordinator at VCU. She conducts the Brain Injury Family Intervention (BIFI), funded by National Institute of Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a clinical research program designed to help families and couples gain necessary education, psychological support, and personal skills after brain injury. Dr. Stejskal trains clinicians to implement the BIFI and presents her work nationally as well as internationally. She has written numerous peer reviewed research and newsletter articles on the impact of brain injury on couple and family relationships. Dr. Stejskal is also a volunteer co-facilitator for the Brain Injury Association of Virginias (BIAV) family support group, and she is an executive board member of the Community Futures Foundation (CFF).

On April 24th, 2009, BrainLine had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Stejskal to talk about their work with traumatic brain injury survivors and their families.