Baylor Spinal Cord Injury Patient Support

Helping patients emotionally deal with a spinal cord injury is as important as the physical healing. Baylor offers support groups, often led by both a therapist and a peer who has experienced a spinal cord injury promote open sharing of similar experiences, social interaction and positive motivational effect.

Helping patients successfully re-enter the community in regards to their work, family, social and leisure lives is a main focus of this program. It begins with learning how a patient feels about his or her injury and the rehabilitation process through individual sessions with a psychologist and with other patients in group discussions.

Patients are also provided with assertiveness training to help them self-advocate and communicate more effectively in interpersonal relationships. They can practice these skills, so they can be better prepared for social interactions while in rehabilitation and after returning home and to their communities.

In individual sessions, patients are provided with detailed information on physiological changes following a spinal cord injury including sexual and reproductive functions. Patients work on developing strategies to help them with relationship skills and effective communication regarding these changes.