Category: Perspectives

Fostering Hope and Coping While Living With Lymphedema: A Visual Narrative for Engaging Cancer Survivors and Caregivers

With compelling quotes from participants, and links to their groundbreaking video, these authors relate the fundamental impact of a series of workshops they developed to help cancer survivors live with lymphedema. The lymphedema video is “an accessible tool for patients, caregivers, students, and healthcare professionals,” they note. “We echo the participants’ hope that it will encourage dialogue between health professionals and patients.”

Art Informing Interdisciplinary Care for a Veteran Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Study

This poignant case study, featuring impressive art created by a military veteran with traumatic brain injury and comorbidities, expresses the power of Art Therapy to heal profound physical and psychological wounds. “The veteran’s art increased his self-awareness while informing the clinical team of his ongoing experience,” Gayla Elliott notes. His art and his words make a compelling case for adding art to the rehabilitation process.

Use of a Patient-Educator to Train Doctor of Physical Therapy Students Regarding Sexuality and Disability

In this thought-provoking article, Cara Felter, PT, DPT, MPH describes a paired approach between a faculty member and an individual with a spinal cord injury to teach physical therapy students about sexuality and disability, and offer guidance for speaking with patients about this sensitive subject.

Mind Mapping: Using Visual Thinking to Improve Patient Care and Quality of Life

Phillip Kellogg, SPT, and Ali Nogi, PT, DPT, present an overview of the practice of Mind Mapping—a visual-thinking tool used for organizing information. Citing Dr. George Huba’s use of Mind Mapping to support his independence as he lives with dementia, the authors make the case for the technique’s effective application in healthcare and rehabilitation.