CBIST Spotlight: Wendy Waldman

Wendy Waldman, B.S.W., CBIST, earned her degree from the University of Georgia and worked in mental health until she moved to Florida, where she began working for Brain Injury Association of Florida (BIAF). Wendy was a Resource Facilitation Coordinator at BIAF for nine years and earned her certification as a Certified Brain Injury Specialist during that time. 

In 2013, she moved to Indiana, where she now works as a Local Support Network Leader with the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana’s Department of Resource Facilitation. Wendy educates and presents on the Resource Facilitation Program and brain injury throughout Central Indiana to assist survivors and families to access the resources and services that may benefit them. She also works with clients and their families to assist them in going back to work and reintegrating back in to the community.

Wendy currently serves as a board member for the Indiana Association for Persons Supporting Employment First (INAPSE) as well as the  the Brain Injury Association of Indiana. She is a now a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer and provides CBIS training all over the state of Indiana. 

Why is having your CBIST important to you and how has it benefited your practice and career? 

I love being a CBIST, representing ACBIS for BIAA. Becoming a CBIST has allowed me to expand my education and offer what I have learned both in formal CBIS trainings as well as in capacity-building trainings across the state of Indiana. I love to utilize the information and knowledge I have gained in my everyday practice as well as with each and every individual I work with. I have also been able to meet and work with a variety of wonderful professionals throughout the region and help them to expand their brain injury knowledge as well as help them to connect to resources, services and supports that may benefit the individuals the work with.

What are some of the latest trends in the literature and practice that you are seeing?

One of the latest topics I have seen in the recent literature and actually become actively involved in education about is how brain injury is now recognized as a chronic condition. There is now scientific data supporting the fact that neither an acute brain injury nor chronic brain injury is a static process – that a brain injury impacts multiple organ systems, is disease-causative and disease-accelerative, and as such should be managed and funded like other chronic conditions. I think this is important for individuals and professionals to understand, for if we are able to help individuals with brain injury manage their condition, we may be able to help prevent certain conditions and aspects that occur commonly after brain injury and be there to work alongside of them if and when they do occur.

I have also seen an increase in looking at long-term opportunities for individuals with brain injury. Services are often more available when someone is first injured, so it is important that we find other options for people to continue their recovery in the long run. One opportunity I have been lucky enough to get involved in is with brain injury and yoga. I am involved with a program called LoveYourBrain Yoga, created by brothers Adam and Kevin Pearce after Kevin, a world-renowned snowboarder, sustained a severe TBI while training for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. LoveYourBrain Yoga programs are designed to build community, foster resilience, and help people understand the importance of loving your brain. They do this by supporting people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury and their caregivers to participate in a free, research-backed, six-week yoga and meditation series based on the science of resilience.

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

I chose a career in brain injury for multiple reasons. This population is absolutely amazing to work with as each brain injury is unique and each individual I work with teaches me something new about brain injury and about the world in general. I am so lucky to work with incredible and strong individuals, families and professionals and to help guide them as best as I can throughout this journey they never imagined enduring.

Working with individuals and families with brain injury is my passion and my goals are to continue to do whatever I can to help persons with brain injury improve their lives and build independence, resilience and a better future. I also would like to continue to encourage awareness of brain injury, increase the capacity of others to work with this population, and promote management and prevention of brain injury to all.