Brain injury: existential view to the restoration of the patient's contact with the self and the world.

We present conceptual changes in psychological rehabilitation after severe brain injury. Traditional clinical approach reduces the person's inner life to level of consciousness, considers psychological processes only from the deficit point of view. We consider the experience of coming out of coma (non-existence) from the point of fundamental components of existence, i.e. anchoring with the world, with life, with self, with the future (Langle, 2003). In aspect of experience these components form the matrix of Patient-World and Patient-Self recovery phases. While working with BI patients, we have defined following phases: 0-phase: experiencing existence, the feeling "I exist here". The main target of psychotherapy is consolidation and reinforcement of the feeling of existence through the feeling of one's body boundaries (and extension), and finding resources for surviving. 1-phase: "be-able-to-exist-in-the world". The patient comes across reality of external world. We mean first of all the perception of the factual side of the world. 2-phase: loving life. The work is concentrated on the recovery of patient's ability to address himself and others so as to be able to experience emotions and live through his own wishes. 3-phase: restoration of patient's self-image and substantiation of own value. It means self-perception and selfrespect despite all the losses and deficits because of trauma. 4-phase: finding the sense. It is necessary to help the patient to make the existential change to avoid dependent position, don't consider himself as the victim of circumstances. This conception is used on different stages of recovery starting from severe disordered consciousness to socialization stage.