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Stroke Program

A Team Approach to Stroke Care

Stroke Research at RHI

Stroke research at Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI) helps us to better understand common challenges after a stroke and how to treat these issues for the best recovery possible. Our research is translational, meaning that it informs the type of therapy offered at RHI. The clinical team receives ongoing education about research findings and how to apply it to the care of patients with stroke at RHI. The knowledge that we gain from our stroke research also helps us to address many critical questions that survivors and family members may have about their injury. Stroke research topics include:

  • ​​Studies aimed at helping people walk and get around the community better
  • Understanding best treatment practices for helping to improve recovery outcomes for our patients with brain injury
  • Ways to improve coping skills and relationships 
  • Return to work and the community 

Study Highlight

Brain injury, including a stroke, brings certain challenges in applying traditional group therapy techniques. Traditional psychotherapy does not meet the needs of the patient or their family. Support groups are important sources of support, but they are not a clinical intervention and are without evidence of impact. Fortunately, RHI's Dr. Samantha Backhaus created the Brain Injury Coping Skills Group (BICS) as a research trial and has demonstrated the effectiveness of this group in several prestigious publications.

BICS is a specialized 15-week group therapy that offers a unique opportunity to brain injury and stroke survivors and their caregivers to learn techniques for adapting to and managing daily brain injury-related cognitive and behavioral challenges, all while still developing important psychosocial bonds with similar individuals. RHI is proud to have developed BICS through research and then, in turn, to offer it as a very specialized service.

Learn More about BICS

Additional Information about RHI Research

You find follow these links to learn more about our research projects.