Book Review: Back to Work!

Abstract

In their introduction, Drs. Bush and Iverson describe the scope of the problem posed by workplace injuries and observe that the evaluation of the neuropsychological effects of such injuries is laden with numerous challenges. They note that the purpose of their text is to promote evidence-based practice in meeting the demands of this work. Following the introduction, the book is divided into three sections including (1) five chapters addressing specific types of workplace injuries and/or populations for which neuropsychological consultation is commonly requested, (2) three chapters addressing mental health and chronic pain issues that frequently arise in the evaluation of workplace injuries, and (3) six chapters addressing professional practice issues that are of particular relevance in the evaluation of workplace injuries. The chapters of the first section address traumatic brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury in professional athletes, electrical injury, neurotoxic exposure, and workplace injuries in military populations. Although most of these topics are addressed in other texts, the chapters in this section generally provide a comprehensive and empirically informed discussion of the topic areas and serve as a useful review of common work-related neuropsychological injuries while laying the groundwork for subsequent sections. The chapter on traumatic brain injury by Iverson and Lange stands out as an example of a concise, but comprehensive and balanced review of a heavily researched and often hotly debated topic. The chapter on electrical injury by Fink, Rog, Bush, and Pliskin and the chapter on neurotoxic exposure by McCaffrey and Miele build nicely from the pathophysiology of such injuries to their potential cognitive, behavioral, and emotional sequelae. The chapters of the second section address post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and chronic pain as they relate to workplace injuries. The chronic pain chapter by McCracken and Thompson in particular addresses issues that may be somewhat less familiar, but no less important to neuropsychologists given the ubiquity of chronic pain issues in populations that we serve and particularly in many individuals who have sustained workplace injuries. All the chapters of this section provide useful information on empirically validated approaches to treating these problems in the context of workrelated injury, which will no doubt be helpful to neuropsychologists directly involved in treatment, as well as to those needing to make appropriate recommendations and referrals. While the chapters of the first two sections are likely to be of value, especially to those who may not have worked extensively with the problems and populations covered, perhaps the real “meat” of the book is in the six chapters of the third section. These chapters cover practical aspects of the process of neuropsychological assessment of workplace injuries in various contexts including the clinical context, the independent medical (or neuropsychological) evaluation, forensic practice, disability determination, and vocational rehabilitation. Information contained in these chapters is empirically based, but also written in a manner that is practical and can be readily applied to day-to-day practice. Chapters by Lamberty and Bush and Heilbronner provide a useful discussion of differences in the conduct of clinical versus independent evaluations and nicely describe the rationale for these differences. The Heilbronner and Henry chapter on forensic practice provides a concise, yet comprehensive discussion of key issues faced by neuropsychologists practicing in this context. The chapter by Lovejoy and Oakes provides insight into the value of the empirical approach that neuropsychologists can bring to addressing the challenge of determining disability in individuals with behavioral health E. Ecklund-Johnson (*) Center for Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, KS, USA e-mail: eecklund-johnson@kumc.edu