TBI UNIT IS AWESOME!! Week 3

Oky soooo I haven't really kept you guys up on my life. A) My major is Recreational Therapy  B) ITS AWESOME  C) we have to complete practicum hours (40hrs) and then internship hours (600hr) in order to receive our diploma. Well in practicum class we have to write weekly reports on what has happened. I decided for your knowledge and to kinda share my passion the next two posts are of week 3 and week 4 of my hw :) The joy of this is hw is that it does not have to be very professional! :D

Week 3

This week was really exciting! Well actually only one day really stood out. Thursday I learned a new and hopefully upcoming therapeutic intervention! It is called Finger Labyrinth Relaxation. Basically the roots of this intervention come from Buddhist/eastern religion practices. Labyrinths were used for relaxation. A person would basically walk around loops till he or she reaches the middle of the labyrinth then turn around and walk back. This form of maze only has one path to take and not multiple options so the stress of trying to make it to the end, picking the right path, or getting lost is not evident. The relaxation, felt by participants, is mysterious yet this walking labyrinth technique has been used right before the birthing process of pregnant women. The finger labyrinth however is a much more scaled down relaxation technique for patients who cannot get out of the unit or bed. Alex (my RT supervisor) had a model labyrinth to show me. Basically it was a transparent plastic board about two feet by two feet with the labyrinth engraved into the board. There are many different ways to facilitate this intervention. The most common and currently most researched method is very similar to and includes guided imagery. Because the labyrinth is engraved, participants can easily follow the maze with eyes closed. The therapist ensures that the placement of the board is in a comfortable position for the participant and while the participant is following the board, the therapist can direct deep breathing, or guiding imagery.

I loved it! Alex gave me a paper copy of a finger labyrinth for exam period but I loved the 3D version so much I attempted to raise my paper copy with 3D glitter glue! It looked awesome…until the 3D glitter glue flattened out. I am going to try pipe cleaners next time! Multiple break throughs found by Alex included: increase attention span, diversion from pain, relaxation technique, and fine motor control. Alex used it on a patient who was open to this technique before his second attempt to pass a swallow study and he was moved up to a wider variety of liquids and solid foods!

A problem I saw associated with this technique was problems I have foreseen in other relaxation interventions. Some people are not open to relaxation techniques like guided imagery or finger labyrinths. Interventions with the purpose of slowing down and relaxing are basically counter cultural. The man who participated in the relaxation technique was a practicing Buddhist before the accident so he was very open to the intervention. When Alex and I introduced the idea to another patient, she participated but was not very open. She completed the maze twice but felt not change and did not want to do it again. I feel some people are more open to other methods of healing besides medicine while other people feel, from experience, that medicine is the best and quickest form of healing. “Better living through chemistry,” as my chemistry professor use to say. It does not mean the those people are wrong and arrogant, it just provides therapists a challenge to motivate and to teach patients that pills can only do but so much as well as harm you. I have found myself thankful for being a part of this field because I have learned and opened my mind to interventions that some people treat as vodo like hypnosis.

            One goal I have created for this practicum is to discover other interventions that were created from other religious practices.