Reconstruction of Identity After Brain Injury

Abstract Following severe traumatic brain injury, difficulty with behavioural adjustment and community reintegration is common. A potential contributor to this difficulty is a sense of personal identity that is inconsistent with the restrictions on activity and need for effortful compensation imposed by persistent impairment. We summarise an information processing framework within which the impact of schematic mental models of self is explained and present intervention procedures designed to help individuals with traumatic brain injury reconstruct an organised and positive sense of personal identity. We conclude the paper with three instructive case illustrations.