Nataliya A. Varako

Background. A lot of brain damage including traumatic brain injuries during war can lead to persistent cognitive disorders and followed impaired functioning in everyday life. The main focus in dealing with such disorders is made on the neuropsychological (cognitive) rehabilitation. Patients psychoeducation aimed to creating an adequate internal picture of the disease and increasing self-awareness of deficits and behavior is considered as the first and the most important step in their rehabilitation process. Yet, to date the theoretical and methodological foundations of psychoeducation are not clear formulated and developed so it makes this stage of the cognitive rehabilitation not much effective.

Objective. Review and analysis of the research literature in the fields of clinical psychology and neuropsychology concerning implementation of psychoeducation for neurological patients, as well as discussion of relevant issues in this problematic area.

Results. The literature review has shown that “psychoeducation” was first officially recommended for severe mental illnesses and continues to develop in the modern system of psychosocial rehabilitation for psychiatric and psychosomatic patients as a special type of psychosocial intervention in the structure of their treatment and rehabilitation process. Various authors particularly highlight the learning aspect of psychoeducation, associated with the patient’s mastery of methods for recognizing the manifestations of his cognitive deficits and behavioral disorders.

Conclusions. Psychoeducation should be implemented in the practice of neuropsychological (cognitive) rehabilitation. In order to advance research and practice of psychoeducation for improving the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation, it is necessary to develop it as a typical educational process where each stage should be matched with adequate tools and practices. In addition, psychoeducation should be linked to the treatment process and to specific therapeutic and rehabilitation goals.