Challenges for neuropsychology in the treatment and rehabilitation of brain-injured patients

This article examines how the treatment of brain damage has evolved to its present form, and how neuropsychologists may be expected to deal with the challenges of providing it. This article describes how neuropsychology became involved in the treatment process. In this context, the authors considered historical factors that brought neuropsychological rehabilitation (NPR) from a purely psychotherapeutic enterprise into full participation in the direct-care process. The authors cover this process by which neuropsychologists put brain-behavior rehabilitation into practice in some detail. Prototypic research discussed in this article has served as a basis for consideration of parameters of measurement, estimation of the validity of treatment approaches, and projections about future study. The authors conclude that treatment approaches in NPR may remain unclear without development of a more cohesive, well-defined, and economically feasible role of the neuropsychologist in this clinical setting.