Resource Discovery| The Defense and Veteran Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) and “A Head for the Future”

By: David Lee Sexton, Jr.

What is the DVBIC?

The Defense and Veteran Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) was founded by Congress in 1992 to serve as the pathway of care manager for traumatic brain injury (TBI) within the Military Health System (MHS). The center provides quality care for individuals ranging from initial injury to reintegration for service members, veterans, and their families to reduce the impact of mild to severe TBI.

A Head for the Future

One of the initiatives of the DVBIC is “A Head for the Future”, which provides resources to the military community prevent, recognize, and recover from TBI. The website’s page on prevention details ways in which individuals can protect themselves from TBI during non-combat situations, including details on helmet safety. Recognize describes what TBI is and provides details on common causes, signs and symptoms, and possible effects on mental health. Finally, Recover presents information on the rehabilitation and treatment process for TBI.

TBI Champions

In addition to providing information on prevention, recognition, and treatment, “A Head for the Future” hosts several video testimonials of individuals who have experienced TBI, called “TBI Champion Stories”. These videos provide glimpses into the lives of a variety of people just like us who have suffered TBI themselves or cared for someone with TBI. These videos alone are a valuable resource because they provide support and hope for individuals going through similar battles, and when taken together they provide a resounding message: you are not alone.

Want to Learn More?

To learn more about traumatic brain injury and its effects on families, please take some time to watch the OneOp Family Development Team’s free, archived webinar presented by Heidi Knock, Psy.D., Staff Psychologist at Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Knock provides individual, marital, and group psychotherapy to veterans and their families. She also treats individuals on the polytrauma unit and the inpatient rehabilitation unit who have a combination of complex mental and physical health issues, such as traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, amputation, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Family Development team aims to support the development of professionals working with military families. Find out more about OneOp Family Development concentration on our website, Facebook, and Twitter.  You can also listen to our Anchored. podcast series via iTunes and our website.