International Handbook of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation
The International Handbook of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation is based on the papers and discussions presented at the most recent of a series of conferences on neuropsychological rehabilitation held in Copenhagen. Dr. Anne-Lise Christensen, a prominent and highly respected authority in the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation, was the conference leader and is coeditor of this handbook.
This is a well-organized, well-written, and comprehensive text. On reviewing the list of contributors and the table of contents, the prospective reader will appreciate the depth and range of the topics covered. The contributors are well-respected clinicians and researchers in the field and include, among others, Anne-Lise Christensen and B. P. Uzzell (the editors), Yehuda Ben-Yishay, Elkhonon Goldberg, Muriel Lezak, George Prigatano, and Lance Trexler. The 24 chapters cover topics ranging from guidelines on management of acute head injury, to neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment, to regional rehabilitation programs and financial aspects of neuropsychological rehabilitation.
Although the first several chapters provide important background information, theory, and context, the chapters that contain the detailed descriptions of regional neuropsychological rehabilitation programs form the core of this handbook and set it apart from other books on neuropsychological rehabilitation. These programs, which reflect the state of the art in rehabilitation centers in Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are multidisciplinary and emphasize individualized and holistic approaches to the assessment and treatment of head injury and stroke.
In keeping with this approach, the treatment of each patient is designed to include his or her preferred learning style, emotional and personality factors both before and after injury, type of injury sustained, capacity for development of insight, and the role of family, friends, school, work, and recreation in recovery. The programs are described in detail and include formats for focused individual and group therapies with an eye toward setting realistic and meaningful treatment goals. The authors describe some of the difficulties encountered in the development of their programs as well as their perceptions of their programs' strengths and weaknesses.
The strengths of this handbook lie in the approach it advocates. It promotes a multidisciplinary, individualized, and holistic approach to assessment and treatment. It also emphasizes the view that recovery is not just recovery of a specific function but also the recovery and restoration of the individual to the community and that over the course of treatment the individual should not be lost or replaced by a focus on lesions or deficits.
The International Handbook of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation is highly recommended for neuropsychologists and graduate students who are working in rehabilitation and related fields. Much of the information in this handbook should also be useful for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, nurses, and program administrators. This book also should serve as a reminder that neuropsychology as a discipline owes much of its richness to its multidisciplinary and international connections and that the field is as active in Europe and South America as it is in the United States.
Dr. Mascoop is a clinical neuropsychologist at Medfield (Mass.) State Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
