Psychological Rehabilitation of Patients with High Level Cervical Spinal Cord Lesions by Means of Automatic Bedside Projection Equipment for Reading Belletristic Literature

Abstract

The medicomechanical treatment of spinal cord lesions ought to be complemented by psychological guidance from the very beginning. ORBAAN (3) reviewed 140 traumatic cases he had managed in this way as a psychologist over a period of 12 years. Some rules can be cited in respect of the psychological adjustment process, which involves several phases, such as denial, depression, aggression, and acceptance. It is essential to have created a relationship of mutual trust between the therapist and the patient, who sometimes rejects the seriousness of the inescapable reality as a means of self-defense against the psychological shock and emotional crisis which threatens the personality. An empathic, more fractionated and gradual approach aimed at enlightening, as suggested by ROGERS (4), has proved better than an objective scientific declaration. The patient often needs an emotional catharsis, the opportunity to tell his life story, to explain his educational, familial, professional, and social background and his intellectual and cultural interests.