When you experience a disabling illness or injury, it can have a profound impact on more than just your physical capabilities: Often, your mental and emotional health can also be impacted.
The physical medicine and rehabilitation experts at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, understand the importance of treating the whole person following a traumatic event, such as a stroke, brain injury or accident, that may leave you coping with loss of function or disabilities. This is why specially trained rehabilitation psychologists are integral members of our rehabilitation team. They can help you mentally work through intense therapies and adapt to changes in your body, functioning or life roles.
Whether you’re being treated at our award-winning inpatient Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital, or in one of our many outpatient therapy facilities located throughout central Ohio, you’ll have access to specialized and targeted mental health care throughout your rehabilitation journey.
What is rehabilitation psychology?
Rehabilitation psychology is a specialized field of mental health care that focuses on how people recover and adapt following a significant illness, injury or disability. Experts trained in rehabilitation psychology can help you cope with a change in function and overcome barriers to participation in life activities while also teaching you to manage feelings of hopelessness, grief, loss of identity or even suicidal thoughts.
Rehabilitation psychologists can also work with you to adapt to cognitive (thinking, memory, reasoning) changes caused by your condition and learn new ways of doing certain daily activities. Other areas rehabilitation psychologists might help with include:
- Pain management
- Changing body functions and body appearance
- Participation in treatments, self-management of condition
- Neurocognitive changes
- Moods or other emotions
- Vocational or back-to-work or -school desires
- Caregiver concerns
Overall, a rehabilitation psychologist will work with you and your family toward improving your quality of life physically, mentally and emotionally through mental health assessment and interventions, including psychotherapy (talk therapy).
What’s the difference between rehabilitation psychology and general psychiatry services?
Rehabilitation psychologists are fellowship-trained and have or are working toward a board certification in the specialized field of treating mental health needs related to chronic health problems and disability.
Who is a candidate to work with rehabilitation psychology?
Anyone experiencing mental or behavioral health concerns due to a chronic illness, injury or disabling condition across the lifespan might be a candidate for rehabilitation psychology services.
While at Dodd Hall, you may have an initial consultation with a rehabilitation psychologist. Depending on your needs, the psychologist on your team may work with you more intensively throughout your stay.
You may also access our rehabilitation psychology services while admitted to other areas of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center or receiving rehabilitation treatment on an outpatient basis. Some of the conditions we treat and evaluate include:
- Stroke
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Spinal cord injury
- Amputation
- Severe burns or wounds
- Other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis
- Cancer
- Heart or lung conditions
- Organ transplants
No matter the condition that is causing your disability or loss of function, our experts can help you cope with challenges to rehabilitation, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or chronic pain.
What to expect with rehabilitation psychology
You can access rehabilitation psychology experts at various levels of care throughout our medical system, including both inpatient and outpatient settings. Some outpatient services can be provided virtually.
Services offered by rehabilitation psychology
Our rehabilitation psychology services are individualized and tailored to meet the needs and values of each person in our care, and can include individual treatment as well as family treatment, as appropriate. Types of treatments and services available include:
- Comprehensive psychological evaluations and assessments to determine symptoms, conditions and possible treatments
- Psychotherapy, both individual and group options
- Psychoeducation, or education about your new condition
- Assistance with adaptation and coping with an acquired disability, such as aphasia, paralysis or other losses of function
- Treatment for chronic pain or stress-related disorders
- Telehealth visits to increase access and engagement in these therapeutic services
There are also multiple support group options available to patients and their families. For more information related to current groups being offered, please contact our office at 614-293-6244 or 614-293-3830.
Neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological evaluations help us understand the cause of problems with memory, attention or other cognitive abilities that are related to neurological or medical conditions. They focus on understanding brain functions and how damage to specific areas of the brain impacts functioning.
A typical neuropsychological evaluation will require several hours to objectively quantify cognitive strengths and weaknesses. We have several neuropsychologists within our department, several of whom are board-certified in clinical neuropsychology.
Why choose Ohio State for rehabilitation psychology?
People come from across the region to Ohio State for rehabilitation from significant injuries and conditions. One of the main reasons people choose to recover here is our robust rehabilitation psychology program. Highlights of rehabilitation mental health care at Ohio State include:
- Unparalleled expertise – There are roughly only a dozen board-certified rehabilitation psychologists in Ohio. Eight of these experts are members of our staff, which also includes two board-certified neuropsychologists. No other health care system in Ohio offers the depth of expertise and experience found within our rehabilitation psychology staff.
- Well-integrated services – Mental health care for people with chronic illnesses or traumatic injuries isn’t an afterthought at Ohio State. We offer various touchpoints throughout all levels of care and rehabilitation to ensure all people receive the treatment they need, when they need it.
- Specialized and targeted care – Many members of our rehabilitation psychology staff also have further training and certifications to work with specific populations, such as those with a TBI or amputation. The experts behind this personalized care understand the unique needs of people recovering from these significant medical issues.