Friendships and intimacy: Promoting the maintenance and development of relationships in residential neurorehabilitation

BACKGROUND: Social re-integration after acquired brain injury is an important part of successful rehabilitation outcome, both in terms of return to work and emotional wellbeing. Residential rehabilitation often places individuals at a distance from their pre injury social context. Supporting the maintenance or development of intimate relationships is therefore a crucial aspect of neurobehavioural rehabilitation. However, the development of new relationships is not without risk. OBJECTIVE: To provide a framework for considering interventions around personal and intimate relationships post brain injury, taking into account the complexities of risk assessment and risk management. METHOD: The authors have used clinical case examples to develop a framework to support risk assessment and intervention planning. The framework has been used in a residential rehabilitation service to support the development and maintenance of intimate relationships post injury. No formal data collection was used. RESULTS: Case examples are used to illustrate how the framework can assist clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The authors provide a framework to assist clinicians working with complex clinical cases to think through options for intervention to maintain or develop friendships and intimacy whilst taking account of factors affecting risk management.