Neuropsychological Rehabilitation: Meditations from Clinical Practice

Abstract

Neuropsychological rehabilitation is the therapeutic process by which individuals with neurological injuries (or other pathologies affecting the central nervous system), and their families, work together with professionals to achieve a fulfilling, meaningful, and useful life. This intervention focuses on different areas that may be affected by the injury (behavior, cognition, emotion or identity). In this work, the author offers some meditations on neuropsychological rehabilitation, based on his experience as a neuropsychologist in a specialized neurorehabilitation hospital for over two decades. The work addresses the following topics: the individual as the subject of treatment, the concept of recovery and its reinterpretation, neuropsychological assessment in neurorehabilitation, the relationship between neurological injuries and neuropsychological symptoms, post-injury evolution and the concept of chronicity, the family as a key element in the recovery process, common misconceptions in neurorehabilitation, and the professional's self-care.