The Multicontext Approach to Cognitive Rehabilitation

This text provides practical information, tools and resources for implementation of the Multicontext Approach (MC) in cognitive rehabilitation. The Multicontext approach is uniquely designed to promote and enhance cognitive strategy use, self-awareness and self-monitoring skills across everyday activities in a way that maximizes functional outcomes for people with cognitive impairments due to acquired brain injury and other health conditions. Assembled by a leading worldwide expert in cognitive rehabilitation, this is the first comprehensive volume that integrates Multicontext treatment principles, evidence and guidelines all in one place and provides "how to" information to guide clinical practice and research.

Organized into 3 sections, the first part provides foundational knowledge and clinical examples of the impact of cognitive impairments on functional performance and includes tools for observing, analyzing, and interpreting cognitive performance within daily life activities. The second part provides in-depth coverage of the Multicontext approach including theoretical concepts, strategies to address different cognitive performance problems, and detailed guidelines for using a structured metacognitive framework, guided learning techniques, and structuring treatment activities along a transfer continuum to optimize generalization or carryover of learning. The final part of the book provides additional clinical scenarios and case examples to illustrate how the Multicontext approach can be tailored to meet individual needs across a wide range of clinical problems and settings as well as within interprofessional teams.

This landmark publication is an essential resource for occupational therapy practitioners, students, clinical neuropsychologists, researchers, and other healthcare professionals who work within the field of cognitive rehabilitation in inpatient, outpatient or community-based settings. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, this invaluable book features an extensive appendix with a full of a range of learning exercises and reflective activities, summaries, observational tools, training guides, clinical examples, treatment forms and worksheets that can be reproduced for clinical practice to enable readers to carry out these methods with their clients. Purchasers obtain access to a Web page where they can download and print reproducible materials from appendices.

Joan Toglia, Ph.D, OTR/L, FAOTA is internationally recognized as a leader in Cognitive Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy. She is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Cognitive Science in Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, NY; Professor of Occupational Therapy, and Dean of the School of Health and Natural Sciences, Mercy College, NY. Dr. Toglia has over 30 years of experience in Occupational Therapy, with a specialization in NeuroRehabilitation and cognitive impairments following acquired brain injury. Her advanced graduate and doctoral work in Educational Psychology includes specializations in cognition & learning as well as measurement & evaluation. Dr. Toglia has contributed extensively to the field of cognitive perceptual rehabilitation as a clinician, author, educator, and researcher. She has presented over 300 workshops and lectures on cognitive rehabilitation to clinicians throughout the United States and around the world including Hong Kong, South Africa, Israel, Europe, Canada and South America. Her work has focused on theory, assessment methods and intervention strategies to support and optimize cognitive function across different populations. Dr. Toglia's publications include a co-edited a book, assessment tools, and over 75 journal articles and book chapters. Motivated by a clinical need to address challenges in self-awareness and learning observed in people with brain injury, she was one of the first clinicians and authors to apply metacognitive strategy principles to Cognitive Rehabilitation and hence developed the Multicontext Approach. Dr. Toglia has been recognized for her leadership and contributions to Cognitive Rehabilitation Theory and Practice by the American Occupational Therapy Association through an Achievement Award and appointment to the Roster of Fellows of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Erin R. Foster, PhD, OTD, OTR/L is an Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy, Neurology, and Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Foster has over 15 years of experience in Occupational Therapy and cognitive rehabilitation research, with a specialization in aging, neurorehabilitation, functional cognition, and intervention development and testing. Her doctoral work in Rehabilitation and Participation Science and post-doctoral work in clinical investigation and clinical neuroscience involved advanced training in rehabilitation research, neurodegenerative disease, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral intervention development and testing, self-management, functional cognition, and research design and methods. Dr. Foster directs the Cognitive and Occupational Performance Laboratory, which generates knowledge to guide the development of more effective and comprehensive rehabilitation programs for individuals with neurological disorders and cognitive dysfunction. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her work in functional cognition and Parkinson disease. She has received federal and foundation funding for her research, which includes studies on cognitive strategy based interventions and specifically the Multicontext Approach. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications and national and international presentations on these topics. In addition, she teaches occupational therapy students in a variety of related subjects and has trained occupational therapy practitioners in the use of the Multicontext Approach.