Brain Injury Information and Training September 2010

Brain Injury Information & Training
Free of Charge for Families, Friends & Professionals

Hosted by the Mary Lee Foundation
Mary Lee Foundation Community Center
1327 Lamar Square Drive Austin, Texas 78704
Date: September 14, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Everyone will experience various levels of stress throughout their life, and the way you think will either minimize or maximize the level of stress you experience.  Example:  Let’s say there are five people sitting in a room around a table when suddenly a small, round, orange object from the outside breaks the window and lands on the middle of the table where the five people are sitting.  Each person notices this small orange object has three eyes, two noses, no hair, one ear, no arms, one thin leg and one fat leg, unable to speak any sound, is slightly shaking and slightly bleeding.

• One person starts laughing because he thinks the object is harmless and funny looking
• Another person is frightened and begins to cry from fear the object is the beginning of an alien attack
• Another person immediately starts looking for a bandage to stop the orange object from bleeding
• Another person casually sits back in their chair and intently observes the behavior of the orange object
• Another person starts to panic, yells for help and picks up a trash can in an effort to capture it

Each person saw and experienced the same event, yet each person reacted differently.  Their way of thinking resulted in the way they behaved.  Participants will learn how to overcome stressful situations by changing the way you think and therefore react to potentially stressful situations.  In this process participants will learn the key factors that cause stress in one’s life, learn strategies to help prevent stress from occurring and learn self monitoring techniques to identify the onset of stress in order to effectively minimize its impact.  Learning this concept will also lead to self empowerment and enhance one’s ability to achieve purposeful goals.

Mr. Howe is the Admissions Coordinator for the Mary Lee Foundation Rehabilitation Center, obtained his BA Degree in Psychology from the University of Texas, obtained a MA Degree in Child Psychology from Incarnate Word College and has nearly 40 years experience working in the mental health field. Mr. Howe is an active member of the Society for Cognitive Rehabilitation, the Case Managers Association of Austin, the Texas RehabACTion Network and the Brain Injury Association of Texas. Appointed by the Austin City Council Mr. Howe is currently serving his fourth term as Commissioner on the Austin Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities. Mr. Howe was presented the “Texas Humanitarian Award” by the Brain Injury Association of Texas, presented “The Distinguished Service Award” by the City of Austin and received national recognition for his career contributions in the field of brain injury when presented the distinguished “National Leadership Award of Excellence” by the Brain Injury Association of America.

All training sessions are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 7:00 pm – 8:30 p.m.

For more information or questions please contact Chip Howe at (512) 443-5777