OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Telehealth

Natalie Mackenize has been working in Cognitive Rehabilitation since 2004. She holds a master's degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology, is a certified br...

26 May 2021

Dustin and Natalie met right before the shutdown. Since then, Natalie started to use HappyNeuron, and her clients are thrilled about it. In this snipp...

3 May 2021

Brain injuries are complex injuries. Heather Condello and her team of occupational therapists, including Ayushi Dhingra, understand that. Heather and ...

4 April 2021

The internet has become a tool for occupational therapists to use to provide access to occupational therapy for a variety of different patient populat...

3 July 2020

Who Benefits From Telehealth Occupational Therapy? People who may have experienced injuries such as a stroke, a brain injury, feeding disorders, uppe...

15 May 2020

TBI

Aerobic exercise has been studied extensively for its physical, mental, and cognitive health benefits. Of interest is how often physical therapists ma...

20 February 2022

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) may sometimes have an unexpected positive impact on one's life. More often than not, TBIs interrupt or inhibit hobbies...

8 November 2021

SLPs are involved in the recovery process of clients with different medical conditions. In acquired brain injury through a motor vehicle accident, dam...

20 September 2021

Natalie is back with some expert advice about how to work with patients who have both ADHD and a TBI. If you love this video you MUST check out her en...

7 July 2021

Brain injuries are complex injuries. Heather Condello and her team of occupational therapists at Complex Injury Rehab - The Brain, Spine & Mental Heal...

26 May 2021

The day has finally arrived. This interview with Natalie is AMAZING! If you work in cognitive rehabilitation from TBIs this is a video you most defini...

26 May 2021

Dr. Taher Chugh treats post-concussion care like he would be training an athlete. He approaches them from a holistic approach and has found remarkable...

29 January 2021

Dr. Amen discusses the importance of brain scans in medical practice. Many clinical providers do not get a chance to look at their client’s brains, ...

2 October 2020

This will be the best, most informative 35 minutes of your day. Concussions are more frequent than many people realize. Kyra's 25 years working with T...

16 September 2020

Occupational therapists are on the front lines working with brain injury. Difficulties OTs face with patients with brain injury include not only the p...

21 August 2020

Social media offers an opportunity for people to connect with one another. On Facebook, people can find ‘groups’ devoted to special interests, cau...

14 August 2020

While exercising regularly promotes physical health, exercising may also provide cognitive benefits. Specifically, attention has been drawn to the pot...

12 August 2020

Professional athletes and everyday people are susceptible to brain injury. What is important for both patients with brain injury and clinical provider...

10 August 2020

While smartphones get a bad reputation from being disruptive in many situations, smartphones can prove to be useful assistive devices for people with ...

15 June 2020

If you search on the internet, you can find a wealth of information regarding the use and effectiveness of telepractice for a variety of medical condi...

12 June 2020

Concussions impact all aspects of a child’s life. Kyra’s background in neurotrauma has set her apart in her field. Kyra explains how and why she ...

10 June 2020

Many people living with brain injury ask “will anyone date me after I have had a brain injury”? The answer is yes. While dating with brain injury ...

5 June 2020

Brain-injury causes not only cognitive and physical disturbance, but emotional. Many patients suffer from depression, with a report of approximately 4...

25 July 2019

Social Cognition

In October 2010, a new social media app was launched that allowed users to connect by sharing photos. Fast forward to 2021, with roughly one billion u...

10 December 2021

Natalie MacKenzie, MSc, CPCRT, CBIST, from BIS Services, talked with Dustin about how her patients feel about cognitive training and how it affects th...

19 May 2021

Social connection is a human need. Many people struggle with social connection and are at risk of isolation. Social connection can decrease anxiety an...

15 February 2021

Daniel Kahneman explains how memories influence our future. He explains how our memory can influence how we perceive what is going on in the world aro...

5 February 2021

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a Canadian-American pediatrician who assumed the position of Surgeon General of California in 2019. Dr. Harris is known for...

1 February 2021

It may feel bleak to enter 2021 still with social distancing rules and regulations occurring. Many people have been feeling the effects of social isol...

15 January 2021

The holiday season can be very stressful for people with and without cognitive impairment alike. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to hel...

11 December 2020

Let’s face it, change can be scary. Children and adults alike have trouble accepting change. However, there are some ways you can make change less s...

7 December 2020

One of the greatest challenges in cognitive rehabilitation therapy is helping your client connect their practice of cognitive skills to their daily li...

25 September 2020

In 1996, Vialet launched Playworks with two schools in Berkeley, California. Currently, the organization brings play and physical activities to childr...

7 September 2020

Let’s face it, making friends can be super challenging for children and adults. When a person has cognitive impairment, connecting with others can f...

13 July 2020

Gregg's insight into how social goals and cognitive functioning are related is valuable to understanding the importance of social cognition within cog...

6 July 2020

Through television shows, memes, tweets and conversation, people are finding ways to make others laugh. With witty puns and tactful punchlines, people...

13 December 2019

New Articles

Adults living with mental illness risk facing unemployment and poverty. Therapists are eager to address the psychological and cognitive needs of clients with severe mental illness in order to help them find employment and live independently. Little research is available on the implementation of a cognitive and vocational rehabilitation program for adults with severe mental illness. This blog post discusses a study that examined the effects of implementing a cognitive-vocational rehabilitation program for adults with severe mental illness.

3 January 2022

We love the work that BIS Services is doing for people in the United Kingdom. We especially love the advice Natalie has for working with patients who often get frustrated. Take a watch and let us know if you're going to try these techniques in the comment section below.

2 August 2021

Natalie is back with some expert advice about how to work with patients who have both ADHD and a TBI. If you love this video you MUST check out her entire interview found in the expert interviews today!

7 July 2021

Natalie Mackenize has been working in Cognitive Rehabilitation since 2004. She holds a master's degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology, is a certified brain injury specialist, accredited Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapist, a Hypnotherapist, and is the only Certifed Brain Injury Specialist Trainer in the UK. Her wealth of information and training is evident in her practice at BIS Services. You're going to watch anything today, this interview should be it! Natalie works with people with TBIs and helps to reintroduce them to readjust to life after a brain injury. Her insight and expertise has lead her to be one of the leading businesswomen of Kent. In fact, Natalie was a shortlisted Finalist for Kent Businesswoman of the Year 2018 and Winner of the Professional Achievement award. See the coverage here http://thebiss.co.uk/2018/03/12/winners/

26 May 2021

Brain injuries are complex injuries. Heather Condello and her team of occupational therapists at Complex Injury Rehab - The Brain, Spine & Mental Health Clinic understand that. Heather and Ayushi, one of Heather's skilled OTs, sit down with Dustin and discuss how they approach brain injury. HOw they have redefined occupational therapy to help their clients get back on track and resume the occupations that bring them joy - both in their homes and remotely.

26 May 2021

The day has finally arrived. This interview with Natalie is AMAZING! If you work in cognitive rehabilitation from TBIs this is a video you most definitely should like. Natalie Mackenzie has been working in Cognitive Rehabilitation since 2004. She holds a master's degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology, is a certified brain injury specialist, accredited Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapist, a Hypnotherapist, and is the only Certifed Brain Injury Specialist Trainer in the UK. Her wealth of information and training is evident in her practice at BIS Services. You're going to watch anything today, this interview should be it!

26 May 2021

Natalie MacKenzie, MSc, CPCRT, CBIST, from BIS Services, talked with Dustin about how her patients feel about cognitive training and how it affects their moods. She also explains how she uses our digital tool in her practice to better understand what is happening with her patients. This small segment is just a glimpse of the wealth of information her full interview has! Make sure to check it out next week.

19 May 2021

Dustin and Natalie met right before the shutdown. Since then, Natalie started to use HappyNeuron, and her clients are thrilled about it. In this snippet, she explains how they felt and their reactions when they were introduced to HappyNeuron Pro.

3 May 2021

Rebecca Langbein is pursuing her clinical doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OT) at Thomas Jefferson University. Like many OTs, Rebecca is constantly learning about how OT practitioners can empower their clients and communities by combining occupational therapy, engineering, and design. Rebecca aims to design environments and technologies that will provide more equitable opportunities for participation among all people, especially people undergoing occupational therapy. 

12 April 2021

Brain injuries are complex injuries. Heather Condello and her team of occupational therapists, including Ayushi Dhingra, understand that. Heather and Ayushi discuss how they approach brain injury and redefine occupational therapy to help their clients get back on track and resume the occupations that bring them joy. Learn about how Heather and Ayushi provide cognitive rehabilitation and occupational therapy services for their clients living with brain injury virtually.

4 April 2021

Yes, you can! This blog post will tell you why. Telehealth and remote therapy options are becoming increasingly popular as the COVID-19 crisis continues. Seniors are among the most vulnerable people that could face fatal consequences of contracting the virus. Telehealth has been shown to be effective in managing chronic health conditions for elderly people while keeping them out of harm’s way. In this blog post, we show the research supporting and explaining how telehealth can be used to effectively manage chronic health conditions in elderly people.

23 November 2020

Occupational therapists are instrumental in the care of people living with dementia.Occupational therapists have a holistic understanding of how cognitive functioning impacts activities of daily living. They can provide cognitive stimulation therapy to help maintain areas of cognition and delay the gradual cognitive decline that occurs with dementia. Because there is no cure for dementia, the success of occupational therapy interventions, including cognitive stimulation therapy, is measured by the maintenance of certain cognitive functions that are expected to decline over time.

11 November 2020

‘Lego Therapy’ uses Legos to provide cognitive and emotional stimulation for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Using Legos, she carves out roles for each of her clients to fulfill: manager, supplier, and builder. Using these roles, Kitty teaches her clients cognitive skills such as verbal fluency, attention, executive functioning, and visual spatial skills.

3 September 2020

Many people that experience a stroke, brain injury, or episode of psychosis have resulting cognitive complications. Many clients who have had a neurological accident or a psychotic episode can become unemployed and have trouble re-entering the workforce. Different kinds of clinicians can help their clients get back to work by providing cognitive remediation therapy and vocational support. In this blog post, we discuss how clinicians can help their clients get back to work by using cognitive remediation therapy

17 August 2020

Administrating and supplying occupational therapy services within a school system is challenging. There are a lot of barriers to overcome that inhibit children from receiving proper care. With the advancement of technology, more and more children are accessing occupational therapy through alternative methods.  While students with individualized education plans need to be able to access therapy, many schools have trouble finding an occupational therapist to do so (Muller, 2009). By using telepractice methods, occupational therapists can provide school systems access to specialized occupational therapy regardless of their location. 

15 July 2020

Did you know that damage to a person’s left hemisphere can change how they make coffee? Damage to the left hemisphere can cause a person to forget how to use a coffee machine, or even pick up a coffee cup. This cognitive problem is called apraxia. Apraxia is a cognitive disorder that interferes with the performance of everyday actions. People that have had a stroke, brain injury, or that develop dementia may develop apraxia which will impair naturalistic actions. Naturalistic actions are behaviors that require the use of an object to be accomplished (i.e. using a comb to brush one’s hair). Studies examining whether executive function or semantic knowledge plays a larger role in apraxia have been completed with different patient populations showing contrasting results6.

1 July 2020

Who Benefits From Telehealth Occupational Therapy? People who may have experienced injuries such as a stroke, a brain injury, feeding disorders, upper extremity limb loss, and other neurological conditions have seen positive results from telehealth.  Literature suggests that telehealth interventions are proven to be more effective than traditional in-person therapy sessions for mental health and substance abuse populations (Kinley et al., 2012).   Lastly, telehealth services have shown efficacy for adults with autism living in assisted living facilities to be able to perform household activities more independently (Taber-Doughty, Shurr, Brewer, and Kubik, 2010). 

15 May 2020