Individuals with traumatic brain injury (or TBI) “frequently experience damage to regions of the brain and neural networks involved with processing emotions. As a result, many survivors have trouble identifying, labeling, and expressing their emotions, a condition known as alexithymia.” This is where My Emotional Compass could prove useful.
As many as 60% of individuals with moderate to severe TBI experience alexithymia. My Emotional Compass is an app that helps these individuals put their feelings into words. The goal of the app is to give patients with TBI better insights to their emotions, so they’re better able to control them and communicate them to others.
The app is based on a study led by Dr. Dawn Neumann at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI). Here is a brief synopsis of the study:
“[The study] involved patients, who, on average, had experienced a traumatic brain injury at least eight years prior. They underwent eight, one-hour emotional awareness training sessions with a research therapist. The results were promising.”
The app will encourage users to use specific labels. The more emotional the labels, the more points the user receives.
Features of My Emotional Compass:
- Methodically guides people through a series of guided prompts, helping them to best describe the emotions they are feeling
- Built-in charting helps you track your progress
- This app is the result of over four years of evidence-based research by Dr. Dawn Neumann at RHI
- It is recommended patients use the app in collaboration with a clinician, such a psychologist or speech language pathologist
- Available for iOS devices
