ABSTRACT
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in myriad physical, cognitive, and emotional impairments that disrupt an individual's capacity to live independently, perform social and occupational roles successfully, and maintain preinjury quality of life. This chapter provides an overview of neuropsychological rehabilitation, and reviews the research demonstrating its efficacy. It identifies recurrent and often unresolved themes in the relevant literature, and presents an overview of empirically based neuropsychological interventions for cognition, emotion, and self-awareness. The chapter discusses future directions of neuropsychological rehabilitation for TBI. The range of interventions that constitutes neuropsychological rehabilitation for TBI has evolved over time. Cognitive rehabilitation interventions are commonly classified as either restorative or compensatory. The chapter describes evidence-based neuropsychological interventions for improving cognition, emotional functioning, and awareness of deficits following TBI found in the literature. Memory deficits interfere significantly with a person's ability to function independently and can interfere with treatment by impairing the patient's ability to learn and/or recall the content of treatment sessions.
