Associate Professor Felicity Bright
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PhD
Registered Speech-Language Therapist; Associate Professor of Rehabilitation, Auckland University of Technology, NZ Felicity Bright, PhD, is a registered speech-language therapist and Associate Professor of Rehabilitation at Auckland University of Technology. Her research examines how health services and practitioners can best respond to the needs and priorities of people and whānau who access care. Through her work, she seeks to support services to address people's long-term, holistic needs by enhancing communication, connection and support for well-being. Felicity co-authored the Psychosocial Well-being Toolkit produced by the National Stroke Network, leads a community of practice to support its implementation, and has produced a range of resources to support healthcare practitioners to intentionally address well-being within routine practice.
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Supporting People as They Navigate the Emotional Impacts of Injury
It is completely normal for people to experience a wide range of emotions after a significant injury. These can include what we often think of as ‘positive’ emotions such as relief, gratitude, even hope. At the same time, many people also describe more heavy emotional responses such as grief, sadness, uncertainty, and periods of distress.
Despite how common these reactions are, people frequently tell us that their emotional experiences are rarely talked about in services. Some feel their responses are minimised or overlooked, which can intensify distress and leave them feeling unsupported. Staff, too, often report that they do not feel fully equipped or confident to respond to people’s grief, sadness or distress, even when they want to help.
This presentation will:
Despite how common these reactions are, people frequently tell us that their emotional experiences are rarely talked about in services. Some feel their responses are minimised or overlooked, which can intensify distress and leave them feeling unsupported. Staff, too, often report that they do not feel fully equipped or confident to respond to people’s grief, sadness or distress, even when they want to help.
This presentation will:
- explore the diverse emotional responses people may experience after a major illness or injury.
- highlight what patients say matters most in care that genuinely attends to the emotional impacts of illness or injury.
- introduce a brief, practical framework to support healthcare practitioners as they work with people navigating the emotional consequences of significant illness or injury.
