In defence of cognitive approaches in neuropsychological therapy

Abstract

Everyone agrees that rehabilitation in neuropsychology is a very complex enterprise and no one claims to have an intelligent, efficient theory for treating disorders. Whilst it is true that in cognitive psychology there are no mature theories to solve the many problems confronted by clinicians in their daily practice, it may be that, between a never-realised ideal theory capable of solving practical problems and the purist avoidance of clinical problems because of theoretical immaturity, there is an intermediate route that confronts science and practice. This way forward, we believe, should draw upon cognitive neuropsychology to provide a more precise guideline for re-education within clinical activity.