Episode #121: Supporting Individuals with Aphasia and their Whānau to Hold Hope, Engage in Therapy, and Promote Wellbeing: A Conversation with Felicity Bright

Welcome to the Aphasia Access, Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Ellen Bernstein Ellis, Director Emeritus of the Aphasia Treatment Program at Cal State East Bay in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, and a member of the Aphasia Access Podcast Working Group.  Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources.

Brief topic intro

I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr Felicity Bright. We'll discuss her research looking at factors impacting wellbeing,  engagement and hope.

Guest bio

 

Felicity Bright is a registered speech language therapist and associate professor in rehabilitation at Auckland University of Technology in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Her research examines cultures of care, and in particular, how the cultures and practices in rehabilitation respond to the needs and priorities of patients and those who support them. She has a particular interest in stroke and in the needs and experiences of those with communication impairment through her work, Felicity seeks to support practitioners services and rehabilitation organizations and to provide better person centered care.

Listener Take-aways

In today’s episode you will:

• Explore how qualitative research promotes the nuanced study of meaningful clinical practice
• Consider cultural differences in well-being and what this might mean for how we work with people with aphasia and their support networks
• Reflect on the importance of having discussions with patients about hope and well-being
• Discuss how culture and organizations impact healthcare practice for individuals with aphasia

Show notes edited for conciseness

Ellen Bernstein-Ellis Felicity, welcome to our show. Thank you for agreeing to be our guest today.

Felicity Bright  Thank you for having me. It's great to be here.

Ellen Bernstein-Ellis  Welcome Felicity. We’re going to start today with  an icebreaker question. The one you selected for today is, “Do you have  a favorite book or movie about aphasia?

Felicity Bright  It was hard to choose one. Actually, I was just looking at my bookshelf and I went back to myself as a fairly new speech and language therapist quite a few years ago now. One that was really transformative for my practice was Talking about Aphasia by Suzie Parr and Sally Bing.  It's a classic, but it was a beautifully written book that really opened my eyes to the experiences of people with aphasia beyond all the technical work that we'd learned in university and so on, but it brought to life the humanity of the people who have aphasia, and really helped me rethink why I do what I do, and what the real impacts of aphasia can be for people.

Ellen Bernstein-Ellis  Yes, that's a beautiful book that brings that all to the forefront. And I want you to say the title and author again, in case I spoke over you a moment ago,

Felicity Bright