title: Friendships and intimacy: Promoting the maintenance and development of relationships in residential neurorehabilitation.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors.forename: Siobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herbert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D000066530:Neurological Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Intimacy; brain injury; capacity; friendship; risk