• 12
  • January
    2012

Since the attack at an Arizona supermarket last year, nationwide attention has been paid to Representative Gabrielle Giffords. She was shot in the violent attack and sustained a serious brain injury as the result of the ugly incident.

The New York Times takes a somewhat new approach at discussing the incident and brain injuries in general. It can be easy to think of a brain injury as something like any other injury. Give it time and treatment and the victim will return to normal. But an injury to the brain is unique and can put a major strain on a marriage, sometimes leading couples to divorce after an accident has occurred.

While Giffords and her husband are still together, none of us knows how their marriage has been affected by the brain injury. And it has only been a bit over a year since the attack took place. Sources remind us that a brain injury is more than a physical wound. The lasting impact such an injury can leave is a significantly altered personality of the victim.

When most get married, they believe that they are saying "I do" to a person who will generally continue to have the same interests and passions as they do when they get married. Everybody will hopefully evolve somewhat throughout the course of a marriage, but the changes that can take place within a person who sustains a brain injury can be quite quick and drastic.

According to reports, there are counselors throughout the country who are trying to structure specific family counseling programs for families dealing with life after a brain injury. Rather than couples deciding to turn to divorce or stick out an unhappy marriage, the sessions would aim at bringing spouses together to communicate about their new dynamic, goals and feelings.

Whereas traditional marriage counseling will often include conversations about why a couple first fell in love, sessions with brain injury victims and their spouses would avoid that kind of talk. A brain injury cannot be undone; therefore, the sessions would look toward the future and at how to rebuild a happy marriage with the new reality between the spouses.

Source

The New York Times: "When Injuries to the Brain Tear at Hearts," Sarah Wheaton, Jan. 9, 2012