Clinical neuropsychology in rehabilitation

Abstract

Despite a growing awareness of the critical role that cognitive factors may play in the rehabilitation process, rehabilitation programs continue to concentrate heavily, if not exclusively, on improving physical disability. In the rehabilitation setting, considerable research has indicated that cognitive variables are not only related to, but are also of significant value in predicting physical rehabilitation outcome. In cases where deficits in cognition constitute not only debilitating but enduring aspects of brain injury, remedial input has been recently shown to improve level of functioning. In this report, we focus broadly and generally on the relationship between cognitive factors and rehabilitation, the emerging field of cognitive remediation, and the critical role clinical neuropsychology has to play in its further development. Several issues of both theoretical and potentially applied importance are highlighted, and some suggestions for future research are offered.