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Women's Support Group

by Seton Melvin

In 1991, Mount Sinai issued an open invitation to women with brain injuries to a meeting, to assess whether they had issues distinct from men with brain injury and to gauge their interest in forming a support group for women. Over 100 women attended and gave voice to issues they had held in silence. They discussed the loss of personal and professional identity, disruption to the family structure, lack of knowledge and understanding about brain injury and common problems after a brain injury, such as fatigue, depression, isolation, and changes in sexuality.

This seminal meeting identified a set of TBI survivors with common needs that had not been addressed. This was the genesis of the Women with TBI Support Group.

This group continues 13 years later as the only one of its kind in New York City. It provides a monthly gathering place for women to discuss their cognitive and emotional needs, grapple with challenges common to female survivors of brain injury and to learn from the experiences of their peers. Group members remark that when they come to group, they feel understood, at ease and accepted, something often lacking in their everyday relationships.

Over the years, many women have found support in the group as they adapted their lives to accommodate new goals, given the changes thrust upon them by brain injury. For example, nine years ago Janet was taking courses to allow her to pursue a position in veterinary care when she slipped on icy pavement and hit her head. Since then, she has built a business caring for people's pets while they are at work or out of town. This provides her financial security and a job she loves. Dr. Kathleen Watson was relocating her medical practice to her native country of Jamaica when she was hit by a car, sustaining substantial injuries to her brain and body. She has since left her practice and is now the chairperson for the Medical Committee of the International Field Hockey Federation. Additionally, she has written a book, The Road Back, about her recovery experience. Dr. Watson recently completed a Ph.D. thesis about osteoporosis and is "celebrating my eighth year since my accident". Margarita, a schoolteacher, suffered a brain injury several years ago and all but withdrew from involvement in activities outside of her apartment. A year ago, she began to volunteer at a nearby school one day per week. She increased her commitment there and several months later was asked to become a paid substitute teacher. When a position became available for the 2004 school year, the NYC school system offered her a full-time position.

I joined Mount Sinai as a research assistant in 1996 and later became co-leader of the Women's Support Group (a postdoctoral fellow in neuropsychology, Dr. Doris Chun, is the second co-leader). I had been a financial executive when I suffered an aneurysm in 1990. I now feel that brain injury survivors — me included — derive great hope from seeing others with brain injury functioning well and enjoying their jobs everyday. My TBI was a shock, then a challenge, which turned into a new beginning. During the recovery process, I discovered that while one door had closed behind me, a window had been opened.

Women interested in attending a meeting of the group can contact Dr. Wayne Gordon at wayne.gordon@mssm.edu, for schedule and location, visit the Calendar of Events section of this Web site, or call me (Seton) at (212) 241-5152.