Two kinds of trauma, one person
Trauma can mean an emotional wound, a physical injury, or both at once. When someone survives violence, exploitation, or an accident, their brain may have been physically injured at the same time as the emotional trauma occurred. Most systems are built to see one or the other.
What gets missed
Traumatic Brain injury (TBI) symptoms often look like something else:
Trouble concentrating
Memory gaps
Irritability
Sensitivity to light and noise
Sleep problems
Mood changes
Without screening, these are easily read as anxiety, “non-compliance,” or substance use, and the person is treated for the wrong problem.
Where we see traumatic brain injury the most
Domestic violence
Chokeholds & strangulation
Sports
Veterans
Whiplash
Human trafficking
Homelessness
Beyond Trauma-Informed:
Adding TBI to Trauma Care
Ask about head injury, whiplash and strangulation as part of intake
Listen for gaps in patient history
Adjust how information is delivered
shorter sessions
written follow-up
repetition
Interpret missed appointments or difficulty following plans with brain injury in mind
Refer for TBI evaluation rather than assuming a behavioral cause
