This volume is a thoroughly revised and updated version of Sohlberg and Mateer's earlier, well-received text,
Introduction to Cognitive Rehabilitation (
1), published in 1989.
Cognitive Rehabilitation is a well-organized, well-written, comprehensive text that will bring the clinician up-to-date on advances in the field.
The first four chapters provide an excellent summary of issues in assessment and neurobehavioral recovery. The remaining 11 chapters cover the management and rehabilitation of attention disorders, memory deficits, unawareness, depression and anxiety, behavioral problems, and dysexecutive symptoms. The book also includes chapters on the use of external aids and on working with families and with children.
Cognitive Rehabilitation is written for clinicians who treat individuals with acquired brain injury and who are faced with a host of challenges, ranging from working within managed health care parameters to the management and rehabilitation of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae of acquired brain injury.
The authors provide treatment strategies that are grounded in theory and research; emphasize individualized, practical approaches to symptom management and rehabilitation; and take into account the patient's learning style, emotional and personality factors pre- and postinjury, and capacity for development of insight and the role of family, friends, school, work, and recreation in recovery. Rather than avoiding challenging topics or indicating that they are beyond the scope of the book, these authors clearly explain complex issues, provide case examples of how to structure treatment, offer specific interventions, and outline how to implement them. Several chapters include interview formats, rating scales, questionnaires for patients and for caregivers, and patient handouts. The chapter on the rehabilitation of children with acquired cognitive impairments includes classroom strategies and outlines the use of direct instruction, a highly systematic approach to the building and maintenance of basic academic skills.
At a time when patient care has become increasingly fragmented, Sohlberg and Mateer make a case for the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation and promote the integration of concepts and theory and the multidisciplinary and individualized assessment and rehabilitation of individuals with acquired cognitive impairments. Most important, the authors promote, through concrete examples, the view that recovery of function is a possible and realistic goal.
Cognitive Rehabilitation contains a great deal of useful and easily accessible information and is the best book I have read on this topic. I highly recommend it for all health care professionals and students who work in rehabilitation settings, including psychologists, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and program administrators.
