Stroke recovery & neuropsychological support.
When your body has recovered, but your brain still feels different.
Stroke recovery doesn't always end when the physical symptoms improve. You might look well on the outside, but still be experiencing fatigue, poor sleep, slower thinking, memory difficulties, or trouble concentrating. Everyday tasks can take more effort than they used to, and returning to work, study, or usual routines may be harder than expected.
These changes are common after stroke. Neuropsychological support can help you understand what has changed, what is still working well, and what may help you move forward.
How neuropsychological support can help.
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Understand what's changed.
A structured neuropsychological assessment maps where difficulties are showing up, including attention, processing speed, speech, visual perception, memory and executive functioning, while also identifying the areas that are working well.
This can help make sense of changes that may otherwise be difficult to explain, and provides a clearer picture of how your brain is functioning following stroke.
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Cognitive rehabilitation.
The aim is to work with your brain, not against it, to support recovery and help you get back to the things you want to be doing.
- Managing fatigue and pacing activities
- Reducing cognitive overload
- Finding ways to work with cognitive changes
- Making work, study and home routines more manageable
Strategies are tailored to your individual cognitive profile, strengths and everyday demands.
Managing post-stroke fatigue and sleep changes.
Fatigue is one of the most common and often least understood effects of stroke. Up to 40% of stroke survivors report fatigue as one of their worst symptoms.
Post-stroke fatigue can feel very different from ordinary tiredness. You might feel exhausted after tasks that used to take little effort, need more recovery time between activities, or find that your thinking becomes harder to sustain as the day goes on.
Sleep problems are also common after stroke and can contribute to daytime fatigue, reduced concentration and difficulties with emotional regulation. Understanding how sleep, activity and fatigue interact can be an important part of recovery.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be used as part of support for post-stroke fatigue and sleep difficulties. It can help you understand what contribute to fatigue, develop more sustainable activity and rest patterns, address sleep difficulties, and adjust to changes in energy and functioning.
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Support returning to work or study.
Returning to previous responsibilities can be challenging when your thinking or energy has changed. Assessment can help identify what you may need to return safely and sustainably, including changes to hours, workload, tasks or other supports.
Where appropriate, assessment findings can also help inform conversations with employers, insurers or NDIS providers.
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Support for the emotional side of recovery.
Stroke can change more than how your brain works. It can affect your confidence, independence, identity, relationships and sense of what the future looks like.
Adjusting to these changes can take time. Psychological support can provide space to process what has happened, while also helping you develop strategies to manage distress, adapt to changes in functioning and move towards the things that matter to you.
Who is this for?
Our services may be helpful if you have had a stroke and are:
- Noticing changes in how you think or function
- Struggling with fatigue or reduced mental stamina
- Experiencing sleep difficulties
- Finding work, study or everyday tasks harder than expected
- Unsure why things feel different despite having physically recovered
- Preparing to return to work or study
- Wanting to better manage cognitive changes
Getting started.
You don't need to know exactly what's causing the difficulty before seeking support. We can start by understanding what you've noticed, what has changed since your stroke, and what you'd like help with.
Neuropsychological assessment and support is available in Mornington, Highett and via telehealth across Australia.