Leonard Diller and Yehuda Ben-Yishay’s Contributions to Neuropsychological Rehabilitation: A Commentary with Personal Reflections

摘要

Neuropsychological rehabilitation focuses on the recovery and/or compensation of disturbances in higher integrative brain functions in a manner that helps the person adjust to their disturbances with minimal resentment and in so doing re-establishes a meaningful life from the patient’s perspective. This often involves a return to a “productive” lifestyle and maintaining mutually satisfying sustained interpersonal relationships (Prigatano, 1999; Prigatano et al., 1986). It includes efforts to help the person relate to various symbols in their life that reflects long standing conscious and unconscious strivings unique to their individuality (Prigatano, 1999; Prigatano, 2012; Prigatano Salas, 2017). Traditionally, these rehabilitation driven activities include cognitive rehabilitation; individual and group training exercises that foster cooperation with others while learning more about oneself; psychotherapeutic interventions to deal with the predictable emotional/motivational reactions to one’s disturbance in higher integrative brain functions and associated loss of self-esteem and social status; guided productivity activities (like protected work trials); the establishment of a therapeutic environment which allows for these activities to be maximally effective; education of family members and appropriate involvement in the rehabilitation process; and the training and active management of rehabilitation staff’s reactions to brain dysfunctional patients (Prigatano, 2002).