{"id":56049,"date":"2019-02-05T09:58:12","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=56049"},"modified":"2019-02-05T09:58:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:58:13","slug":"taking-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2019\/02\/05\/taking-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking care"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Sara Martinko, a graduate student in the School of Professional Psychology, will present her research on \u201cPsychosocial Interventions for Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors\u201d at the American Psychological Association\u2019s annual Rehabilitation Psychology Conference in Orlando. (Photo by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

When her mother suffered a stroke at age 51 that left her paralyzed on her left side, Sara Martinko, her father and sister suddenly became caregivers, a life-changing experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were pretty strong as a family going into it,\u201d recalled Martinko, a graduate student at the Wright State University School of Professional Psychology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But she said the family didn\u2019t get the benefit of any outside resources or support. And it left her wondering how other families of stroke victims are able to handle the increased responsibility.<\/p>\n

So Martinko selected that topic as part of a final project for her Rehab Psychology class, researched the issue and designed a poster titled \u201cPsychosocial Interventions for Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poster has been accepted for presentation at the American Psychological Association\u2019s 2019 annual Rehabilitation Psychology Conference in Orlando, Florida, in February.<\/p>\n

Rehabilitation psychology focuses on the study and application of psychological knowledge and skills on behalf of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Its goal is to maximize health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities and social role participation across the lifespan.<\/p>\n

Martinko believes presentation of her poster at the conference validates the importance of her research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows that they are interested in it and it\u2019s something that\u2019s relevant and impactful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Martinko said families of stroke victims are often caught off guard because strokes can come suddenly without warning. And sometimes stroke victims are released from hospitals before they are really ready, putting more pressure on home caregivers instead of health professionals more equipped for it, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough time when it happens,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a lot going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the pressure is that families sometimes don\u2019t feel capable of caring for stroke victims and the victims often feel they are a burden. There can also be financial pressures.<\/p>\n

Martinko said family caregivers can benefit from interventions, which can include education, resources, support groups and individual and group therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not as available as it should be,\u201d said Martinko. \u201cI would recommend implementing interventions like this; proactively too for families of people who are high-risk for stroke or while the victims are still in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinko grew up in Canfield, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown. She became interested in psychology after taking a class in high school. She remembers her class watching the movie “Sybil,” about a woman with 16 distinct personalities, and found it \u201csuper interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Canfield High School in 2013, Martinko enrolled at John Carroll University in Cleveland to study psychology. In 2017, she graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology with a concentration in forensic psychology and a minor in behavioral forensic science.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also liked my sociology and criminology classes, learning the mentality behind why people commit crimes,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I\u2019m more interested in helping them while they are in prison or jail to recover or rehabilitate before they get released.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinko was attracted to the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State because of its welcoming atmosphere. She loves how the school combines classroom learning with actual experience. She currently works as a psychology trainee at South Community health center and has about 20 clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to have that class experience and knowledge, but also real-life experience sitting in a room with a client,\u201d she said. \u201cIt prepares you really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Martinko hopes to work as a correctional psychologist in a prison or jail setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we go about the criminal justice system is to lock people up for a set amount of time and set them free,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily conducive to their development, and it\u2019s not necessarily great for the community at large because they are coming out in the same situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research by Sara Martinko, a graduate student in the School of Professional Psychology, was influenced by her mother’s stroke. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":56065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2060,725,715,2407,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-graduate","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-professional-psychology","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56049"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56081,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56049\/revisions\/56081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}