CBIST Spotlight: William Gardner

William “Bill” Gardner, Ph.D., CBIST, has worked as a clinical neuropsychologist at ReMed in the Philadelphia region for more than 20 years. He provides individual and group therapy to people living with brain injury. He also conducts neuropsychological evaluations to guide treatment recommendations, develops compensatory strategies, and suggests vocational directions and accommodations. Bill provides and supervises training to graduate students in psychology looking to specialize in neuropsychology. He teaches new employees about brain injury and rehabilitation and serves on ReMed’s Research Committee. He has presented at numerous conferences, including at Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania conferences, on topics ranging from neuropsychological evaluation to group therapy and coping and adjustment to brain injury.

Bill earned his doctorate in clinical psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology from Drexel University.  He completed his pre-doctoral internship at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and a post-doctoral fellowship at ReMed. He first began working in brain injury rehabilitation after graduating college from the University of Illinois.

Why have you chosen a career in brain injury? What are you most passionate about in the field?

I have always been interested in human behavior and became intrigued with the functioning of the brain.  Neuropsychology was the perfect blend of these two fields for me. I was first introduced to the field of brain injury rehabilitation through a summer job at Emory University. What excites me most about working in brain injury is the opportunity to support individuals as they recover and build a productive and satisfying life. I believe all people deserve dignity and quality of life. I value being able to be a part of that.

Why is having your CBIST important and helpful to you in your daily work?

The functioning of the brain is fascinating and complex. Understanding brain injury can be complicated. Having my CBIST provides me the opportunity to teach people new to the field a foundation level of knowledge through Brain Injury Fundamentals and to support those who want to advance their knowledge through CBIS certification. Also, each time I teach the CBIS content, it reinforces my own knowledge and passion for the field.

What are some of the challenges you have seen in working with your patients/clients as they age with brain injury?

Having worked in brain injury rehabilitation for over 20 years, I have seen people improve their functioning and quality of life after injury. Unfortunately, through working with individuals for many years, I have seen some of them begin to decline in their functioning as they age. Some of this decline appears to happen earlier and faster than would be expected from the aging process alone. This becomes a whole new challenge for my clients and their families that is important to help them understand and cope with.

What can clinicians/providers do to best support individuals, and their caregivers, as they age with brain injury?

Trying to support individuals and their caregivers through the aging process has some similarities to supporting them at any time. It is important to have a thorough understanding of their skills, difficulties, goals, and resources. However, it can be difficult for them to experience change after years of established routines and strategies. Supporting them with understanding and adapting to these changes can be challenging. Conducting repeated neuropsychological evaluations over time can help explain some of the changes that are observed and can suggest adjustments to current strategies or new compensatory strategies. I would encourage individuals and their caregivers to keep in mind that skills and needs will change with time and this is not a failure of anything they have been doing. Families and caregivers should be prepared to provide increased support. This can include providing more direct assistance, utilizing additional resources, and having a plan for when caregivers are no longer able to provide sufficient support. The process of observing change and needing to provide increased support has the potential to feel discouraging but this can be balanced by remembering the intention and goal is always to promote the highest quality of life possible for the individual.