Kathleen Kelley, MD, Neil Pliskin, PhD, Joseph Fink, PhD, and Gregory Meyer, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry, have begun a longitudinal study of acute psychiatric ET patients. Their assessments are integrated with findings of the peripheral nervous system evaluation, in-depth chart review to clarify the degree and functional consequences of CNS damage, its correlates, and predisposing factors. The rigorous neuropsychological evaluation of electrical injury patients admitted in the program has provided important insight into effective strategies for rehabilitation of patients with CNS injury. The electrical injury has more than one victim. Co-workers and family members are often affected as well.
Successful therapy has multiple components including successful re-integration into the workplace.
Dr. Mary Capelli-Schellpfeffer has led the ETRP efforts to find most effective strategies for the occupational and social rehabilitation of electrical trauma survivors and facilitate their return to full productive lives. Dr. Mary Lawler provides consultation and treatment concerning the patients' physical rehabilitation. In 1999, Dr. Kathleen Kelley and other ETP researchers in collaboration with Peter Campbell and John Christiansen of Argonne National Laboratory have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a virtual reality treatment for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder after electrical injury that is known to prevent electricians from successful returning to work. A survey of typical electrical injury scenarios has been conducted, and the ANL computer scientists are currently working on the VR software development. Once the software is developed, clinical trials will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this new treatment in electrical injury rehabilitation.