Strive and Thrive with the Council on Brain Injury

By Joanne Finegan MSA, CTRS, FDRT, President of the Council on Brain Injury (CoBI)

Our world has certainly changed over the past few months. Things we once took for granted have been challenged as we restrict access and distance physically from family, friends, co-workers, and our community. We are social beings so this is not easy, especially since we don’t like to be told what to do or that we can’t do something. It just goes against our very grain.
For those living with brain injury, isolation and loneliness are all too familiar. Many times, after the injury, individuals lose their family, friends, job… and need to rebuild not only a new life, but also a new and different social network with those who accept and celebrate the person they have become.

These exact influences of change and social isolation were the hallmarks of developing the Council on Brain Injury (CoBI) Facebook Group called “Strive and Thrive During Social Distancing.” Early on, as states were asking people to stay at home and distance, we thought it important to find a way to reach out to help support individuals with brain injury and the staff and families on the front lines who may be providing care and support. Our growing group of followers from around the country continue to share ideas, information about activities, online resources and classes (mostly free), support groups, and basic arts and crafts that can easily be done with things right in your home. We have found that others outside of our brain injury community – substance misuse staff, long term care staff, parents, and others have joined in as the ideas and resources can benefit any of us.

Using technology, we have posted ways to virtually explore all of the national parks, turn our leftover vegetables into beautiful house plants, take a photography class, practice yoga, and hear music and plays from around the world while also feeding our social need to connect and share through live streams, support groups, and classes. What was unexpected is that it has become a place where, just by its existence, people are connected, taking the suggestions themselves and sharing with their families as we all are in need of finding ways to keep busy, have fun, relax, and rejuvenate.

As a recreational therapist, I have always known the important roles that recreation, leisure, and having a social network play in reinforcing our need to have physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual activities in our lives.

Through the creation and connections of our CoBI Strive and Thrive Facebook Group, we are helping others to also recognize the importance of recreation and leisure. As we come through this challenging time, my hope is that we remember these lessons of simple walks, taking deep breaths, sharing laughter with friends, looking at the stars, and making our future brighter, healthier, and certainly more connected. To join the CoBI Strive and Thrive Facebook Group, click here.

About the Author

Joanne Finegan, MSA, CTRS, FDRT is the former CEO of ReMed, a multi-state provider of brain injury rehabilitation services. She is the current President of the Council on Brain Injury (CoBI), a non-profit whose mission is to fund education and opportunities related to brain injury, support research for improved treatment, and to be an advocate for improved services.

This article originally appeared in Volume 14, Issue 2 of THE Challenge! published in 2020.