Cognitive Rehabilitation
What is Cognitive Rehabilitation?
Cognitive Rehabilitation (also known as Cog Rehab or Cognitive Remediation) involves introducing strategies to help individuals re-learn, improve upon or compensate for a range of cognitive difficulties following brain injury, illness or trauma. Goals of treatment vary, and can include maximizing safety, optimizing independence, reintegrating into occupational, academic or social roles and improving quality of life.
What’s involved in treatment?
According to the American Congress of Rehabilitation’s Cognitive Rehabilitation Manual (Haskins et al., 2012), treatment includes four main steps:
Identification and understanding of the deficits or problems that require intervention, including comprehensive education on cognitive strengths and weaknesses development of both short- and long-term goals.
Generation of strategies to help compensate for identified deficits
Internalization of strategies so that they can eventually be applied automatically without the use of external cues or assistance
Generalization of strategies so that they may be applied cross other settings and situations
What types of cognitive problems are addressed?
Difficulties amenable to cognitive rehabilitation treatment include but are not limited to: memory problems, attention difficulties, poor time-management, difficulties with planning, organizing or problem solving and communication impairments.