Jungian psychology: the loss and subsequent rebuilding of the self following traumatic brain injury
By Anni Yurcisin. This article was initially published in the 2/26/26 Edition of our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.
A recent article published in Neuro Rehab Times details a study that explored the loss and subsequent rebuilding of the self following traumatic brain injury (TBI) through the framing of Jungian analytical psychology. This area of psychology focuses on creating a sense of oneness within the self and on integrating all aspects of the self. In the article, these broad concepts are applied through analyzing the autobiographical narratives of TBI patients to give a different perspective on what people experience following a TBI. In reviewing several earlier studies, author Rebekah Dawson found two main themes across the patient narratives: the immediate loss of self and the rebuilding of the self that comes afterwards. Following TBI, individuals shared that they weren’t the same person as before, highlighting the sense of disconnection, alienation, and grief that people feel for their past self. Dawson highlights how important it is that the treatment for TBI includes a focus on patients’ self-perception, as this allows patients to rebuild their sense of self. Dawson quotes Bruce Jennings, the author of a 2006 Hastings Center Report, who says, “The real tragedy of TBI occurs when and if we allow the physical damage to objectify persons, reducing them to their impaired body and altered behaviour.”
The narratives were shared by people who experienced a TBI, and thematic analysis was used to identify two main themes: loss and reconstruction. In the initial period after their TBI, people experience a sort of “disruption of the psyche”, where their sense of self is fragmented. Their current self is so separate from their prior idea of who they were that they feel this sense of alienation and severe loss. However, there is a turning point where this fragmentation transforms into understanding and coherence, leading to an acceptance of the person they are post-injury. Particularly important to this healing is community, as Dawson notes. “In Jungian terms, relationships provide the relational container where fragments of the self can be held, recognised, and integrated.”
