Overview of Brain Injury, Behavioral Health Considerations and Older Adult

*This will be a hybrid event*

Description: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in

2021, 69,473 US civilians lost their lives to a Traumatic Brain Injury or (TBI) and

214,110 were hospitalized due to TBI. Shocking as these numbers are, they

underestimate the true burden of TBI. In 2008, in an interview with the Wall Street

Journal Dr. Wayne Gordon (retired) of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai,

stated “Unidentified traumatic brain injury is an unrecognized major source of social and

vocational failure.” In the 16 years since, research linking a history of unidentified and

untreated brain injuries continues to accumulate, revealing the prevalence of TBI among

persons engaged in behavioral health systems and programs. The prevalence of brain

injury, both traumatic, following, for example a fall or assault, and acquired brain injury,

secondary to a stroke or survived overdose(es) among individuals in crisis as well as

those at risk of contemplating and completing suicide.

TBI & Older Adults (OA): OAs are a high risk population for incurring a TBI. They are

more likely to fall than younger people for a myriad of reasons including diminished

balance. The National Council on Aging reports that nearly 80% of TBI-related

hospitalizations are due to falls, with 81% of TBIs in adults aged 65 and older are

caused by falls. Although OA are more likely to experience a mild TBI, because of the

aging structures of the brain, OA are more likely to experience intracranial bleeding,

leading to catastrophic results after a so-called “mild TBI”. In addition, to vulnerability to

TBI, older adult males, 55+ are dying by overdose in greater numbers than their

younger counterparts and same age females. For those who survive non-fatal

overdoses, there is a risk of incurring an acquired brain injury (ABI) due to a lack of

oxygen to the brain. Strokes are another cause of ABI. According to the CDC, the

chance of having a stroke nearly doubles every 10 years after the age of 55.

This half day training is intended to provide behavioral health professionals, including

certified Peer Specialists, the tools they need to recognize and support individuals living

with a history of brain injury, including Older Adults with and without co-occurring

behavioral health conditions.

Training Objectives:

Participants will:

● Be able to describe the intersection of Brain Injury, mental health and substances use

disorders through the lifespan

● Become familiar with the risks associated with a lifetime history of brain injury as we

age

● Describe common brain injury related physical, cognitive and behavioral health

challenges after TBI

● Name at least three accommodations that can be used to support individuals living

with brain injury

● Learn recommended brain injury prevention strategies

● Become familiar with resources available to support individuals living with brain injury

who are at risk of, or are living with mental health and/or substance use disorders

Host or Publisher Charles County Local Behavioral Health Authority