North Coast Head Injury Service
(soon to become North Coast Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service)
 

* 145 Laurel Ave
     Lismore NSW 2480
((02) 6620 2111
Ê(02) 6622 1406
: www.ncahs.nsw.gov.au/services/results_detailed.php?serviceid=753

 

The North Coast Head Injury Service (NCHIS) is part of the
North Coast Area Health Service and is one of eight rural
Brain Injury Rehabilitation units in New South Wales. The NCHIS
has three bases, Lismore, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie which,
consist of twelve staff made up of allied health and office support.
I am currently the only Social Worker in the team and I am
employed in a generic role known as a Community Rehabilitation Worker.
 


I work out of the Lismore office, situation on the Far North Coast of New South Wales, just over an hour’s
drive from the Queensland border. I am one of two Community Rehabilitation Workers in this office. The
Manager is situated here and we are supported by an Office Manager. The NCHIS is an outreach service
and the Lismore office covers an area from Tweed Heads in the North, to Yamba in the South and
Woodenbong in the West, travelling up to an hour and a half in any direction.
  
We provide a service to adults and children who have sustained a traumatic brain injury in the last five years,
aged between 5-65 years. We are a rehabilitation service, client focused on goal outcomes on a “Whatever
It Takes” model of practice. We support individuals, families/carers and provide consultancy/liaison for schools, workplaces and service providers as required.
 
People can self refer but most often come via a treating hospital and medical practitioners and will receive our assistance until they obtain their goal(s) or are transferred to another suitable service. Clients can re-refer outside the five year time-frame if their situation changes and they feel a need for further interventions as is often the case
at different transitional stages of peoples lives.
 
My role is to provide a holistic service for clients, beginning with an initial assessment to ascertain levels of functioning and goal setting. I take a therapeutic and case manager role in providing support, education and
referral to service providers. Clients are invited to our regular client meetings or specialised workshops that we conduct from time to time. Presently, my co-worker and I are conducting sessions on developing social skills, entitled “Creating and Maintaining Friendships”. For the past four years, just prior to Christmas, we invited clients and their families to come together and listen to the journeys of four or five clients who present their stories.
This is a popular and successful day, as the stories are usually full of hope and are uplifting for all of us. Last year, we had a Christmas lunch, which followed the presentations and it was a delightful way to finish the year.
 
My role also requires me to work closely with families/carers and offer them education and support, which I do
on a one to one basis. One of my passions has been that of developing a support program for family members/carers. This has been running now for four years and is well attended. Some of the topics include – dealing with challenging behaviours; changed relationships and redefining roles; understanding anxiety and depression, strategies to cope; as well as taking care of yourself, learning how to relax and let go.  From time to time we invite families/carers to small workshop around a theme. This year we have offered families a workshop
on grief and loss, entitled “Brain Injury Happens to Families” and these have been evaluated highly, albeit a
painful journey at times.
 
At the recent Brain Injury Conference on the Gold Coast, I was instrumental in bringing together a family member and a client (not related) to present a paper at the conference entitled “Picking up the Threads via the Circles of Learning”. Their presentation was well received as they discussed the positive impact of advocacy on bringing about changes to their lives for themselves and their relatives.
 

I have been working in the area of brain injury now for almost nine years, beginning in a hospital rehabilitation unit
in Queensland, through to my current community based position. I thoroughly enjoy working with my clients
and families, I would be hard pressed to think of another job where you are as privileged to meet people in
their home and to be welcomed into their lives. Everyone is so different, I have met people from all ages
and backgrounds and although I am sad about the reason for meeting, I love sharing the journey with them.
I am a better person for the experience. In short, I find my work both professionally and personally rewarding
and full of challenges, changes and creativity for which I am truly grateful.
 

Karen Thompson (B.A.;B.SocWk (Hons.))

Community Rehabilitation Worker

North Coast Head Injury Service

Email: karenth@nrahs.nsw.gov.au


 


 

 



 

Last modified: Wednesday, 20 September 2006