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Neuropsychological Interventions for Individuals with Brain Injury

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Physician's Field Guide to Neuropsychology

Abstract

Physicians may be asked to provide opinions on forensic issues affecting their patients which complicate the doctor-patient relationship. Physicians and neuropsychologists can work well together to address legal matters that arise during routine patient care or from attorney referrals once a matter becomes a legal dispute in civil or criminal court. Medical information from the physician and neuropsychological test data accurately interpreted by the neuropsychologist, along with a clear understanding of the legal issue being contested, can help the courts accurately interpret medical and neurobehavioral science accurately. This chapter will provide a brief overview of the various civil and criminal legal proceedings that patients may face and how these legal matters can be addressed with collaboration between physicians and neuropsychologists.

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Correspondence to Summer L. Ibarra .

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Chapter Review Questions

Chapter Review Questions

  1. 1.

    Following a brain injury, the risk for developing depression is elevated:

    1. A.

      Only in the first 3 months after the injury.

    2. B.

      Only if the person is not married.

    3. C.

      At any time after the brain injury.

    4. D.

      Never. People with brain injury are not at risk for depression. Only their caregivers are.

  2. 2.

    According to Trexler [25], which of the following statements are true?

    1. A.

      An individual’s personality traits and style of coping can influence how they recover from an injury.

    2. B.

      The most important variable that predicts recovery after brain injury is the actual medically defined severity of the injury, with the single largest factor being the Glasgow Coma Scale at the time of the accident.

    3. C.

      Having an emotional reaction to the brain injury, such as grief, is an unhealthy response that can lead to detrimental consequences to rehabilitation outcome.

    4. D.

      A and C.

    5. E.

      B and C.

    6. F.

      None of the above.

  3. 3.

    Which of the following statements are not true about cognitive behavioral therapy?

    1. A.

      This therapy is often used to help individual identify when they are perceiving or thinking about a situation or themselves in an unhealthy way and then teach the individual how to cope and adjust to their current circumstances.

    2. B.

      This is a treatment that includes use of electrodes to measure brain activity while the individual completes a cognitive task.

    3. C.

      Research studies have demonstrated efficacy of using this treatment in individuals with brain injury.

    4. D.

      This therapy can be used with individuals with brain injury but hopefully with accommodations or modifications to compensate for cognitive deficits.

  4. 4.

    Review of the evidence-based studies completed on family and caregiver interventions following a brain injury has found that:

    1. A.

      There are a plethora of studies and at this point, the field of investigating the efficacy of caregiver interventions is saturated. No more studies are needed.

    2. B.

      Neuropsychological interventions for treatment of brain injury should only be focused on the person that actually experienced the injury.

    3. C.

      Of the few interventions that have been developed and studied, results show that families and caregivers can benefit from receiving skilled interventions to help them better understand the effects of the injury and learn coping strategies.

    4. D.

      None of the above.

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Backhaus, S.L., Ibarra, S.L. (2019). Neuropsychological Interventions for Individuals with Brain Injury. In: Sanders, K. (eds) Physician's Field Guide to Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8722-1_30

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