Top Stroke Rehabil
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This article uses the medium of clinicians' comments and stories to explore their perceptions of therapeutic relationships and how these relationships come to a close at discharge from aphasia therapy. These narratives are drawn from a qualitative, grounded theory study carried out in South Australia and Northern Territory involving semi-structured interviews with 30 speech pathologists. ⋯ Exploration of these narratives is timely because of the increasing emphasis on person-centeredness in rehabilitation, shared decision making, and authentic relationships. This work is important to encourage reflective practice and greater insight into both speech pathologists' professional identities and their therapeutic relationships.
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Despite great strides in the life-participation approach to aphasia therapy and the arduous work of several therapists to include patients in the decision-making and goal-setting process of therapy, the patient's direct perspective on the experience of treatment is seldom portrayed in academic journals. In the current article, the voices and different agendas of a stroke survivor with aphasia, her speech-language therapists, and an aspiring qualitative researcher are discussed by means of intertwined narratives, dialogues, and discourses. ⋯ The researcher explores her own reactions and thoughts about the discharge process and report writing. The narratives in this article illustrate the potentially serious impact of seemingly routine clinical procedures, such as a discharge report.
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Not only do clinicians play a role in shaping the lives of their clients, but they are shaped by the individuals they work with. This article interweaves selected aspects from the stories of 12 aphasic individuals into a story about some of the things they have taught me about my clinical life.