EnableMe | enableme - stroke recovery and support

My father suffered a stroke on 5 December 2014 aged 67. He has gone from living independently prior to the stroke, to now living in an aged care home (Rockingham area, Perth). He is paralysed on the right side, has severe aphasia and can say only a few words. I have been able to have mobile physios and speech pathologists visit him in the home. I am finding it difficult to locate a psychologist who could help him dealing with his feelings about his situation and would visit him. He is very restricted with his mobility and PEG feeding regime to go out to appointments. If anyone has any experience with finding a phsychologist of this sort, or another way you have dealt with processing a stroke, I would you to comment.

Hi Denise,

I’m really sorry to hear of your father’s stroke. No doubt it has been an extremely difficult time not just for your father but for your whole family.

To find a psychologist, you could try contacting the Australian Psychological Society. They also have an online search function to find a psychologist locally:

http://www.psychology.org.au/FindaPsychologist/?utm_source=Homepage&utm_medium=Sidebar%2BTile&utm_campaign=FaP

(You can search for a psychologist that specialises in acquired brain injury, such as stroke, under the ‘trauma/harm’ tab when selecting an issue. Once it lists your search results, you can refine the results to find a psychologist that will do home visits)

Feel free to contact us on StrokeLine if you would like any further information, advice or support (phone 1800 787 653).

Best wishes,

Katherine (StrokeLine)

Thank you Katherine. I did follow your advice and was able to locate someone meeting those criteria. However, from experience they felt that Dad's sever aphasia would limit his ability to benefit from treatment as it would require his active participation in communication. That said, it was good to have fully explored this option for him.

There is a support group at Rockingham Hospital, but it would require him to attend which is just not possible on a regular basis due to his PEG feeding regime and the transportation logistics.

Hi Denise,

Talking therapy can be tricky with aphasia, however there are other ways to express oneself and manage mood. Here are few more suggestions:

Have you considered engaging with a music therapist to see if this helps both his mood and language? There are a number of choirs around Australia for stroke survivors and singing can be very beneficial in generating voice plus it's extremely therapeutic. A good music therapist will work out music that your dad enjoys and how to incorporate that into sessions.

http://www.austmta.org.au/find-a-music-therapist?field_directory_state_value=WA&field_profile_expertise_tid=All

The other option might be to look at animal/pet therapy, again highly therapeutic:

http://www.aciwa.org.au/

Looking into Art Therapy might be another alternative. This is just one example I found in Perth via a Google search who offer a reduced rate for GP referral.

http://www.creativeseeds.com.au/index.php?page=pricing

We have so many other senses and trying a few other alternatives to see what might help your dad could be worthwhile. Looking into massage and relaxation are other options to help him clear any emotions he may be experiencing. A Yoga teacher for example might be another option to look at relaxation and yoga nidra (relaxation).

http://www.creativeseeds.com.au/index.php?page=pricing

If you want to chat about any of these options further please feel free to call StrokeLine 1800 787 653 - Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (AEST).

Best wishes,

Simone (Occupational therapist for StrokeLine)

Mobile psychologists specialising in stroke (Perth)

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