What Is Cognitive Therapy?
Cognitive functions can be defined as the mental ability involving awareness, perception, logical thinking, language, memory, and reasoning.

These include:

• Attention (sustained, selective, shifting)
• Perception (visual, spatial, auditory, tactile)
• Orientation
• Memory (short-term, long-term, topographic/spatial memory)
• Executive functions (problem-solving and rapid decision-making)
• Learning and using information
• Acquiring complex skills and planning
• Organization and abstract thinking
• Mathematical abilities

Cognitive functions are mental processes that allow us to perform meaningful activities in daily life. Most of our daily tasks are carried out habitually and routinely. Cognitive functions include both routine and non-routine activities. Routine tasks are automatic and require little attention. Non-routine tasks, on the other hand, require the attention control mechanism to focus on new processing. Until these non-routine tasks become established, they require practical application. New situations require planning and problem-solving to achieve the intended goal.

Understanding cognitive processes is essential for analyzing activity performance, identifying activity limitations, and determining participation restrictions. Cognitive dysfunction affects habits, routines, and personal roles.

What Is the Role of the Occupational Therapist in Cognitive Therapy?
Occupational therapists are specialists in identifying how cognitive problems affect daily activities, social interactions, and routines. The responsibilities of the occupational therapist include:

• Evaluating safety, independence, and performance ability in self-care activities
• Maintaining balance
• Educating family and caregivers
• Acute care follow-up
• Intervention to address deficits in attention, problem-solving, perception, and to manage impulsive behaviors
• Organizing basic daily activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene

Who Can Benefit from Cognitive Therapy?

• Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
• Cerebral palsy
• Traumatic brain injury
• Brain tumor
• Brain infections
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Dementia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Down syndrome
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Developmental disorders

In individuals with neurological conditions, cognitive impairments often lead to functional problems. This can manifest as reduced activity performance, difficulties in recognizing objects, or problems in sequencing events. One may encounter individuals who do not recognize their family members, have memory difficulties, fail to respond to questions, or suffer from attention deficits. Therefore, the scope of occupational therapy does not focus solely on body structure and functions; it also identifies cognitive performance skills and activity requirements based on the environment, activity characteristics, or the individual’s role.

How Are Cognitive Functions Assessed in Therapy?
To identify the problem and understand its impact on the person’s life, initial assessments include interviews and observation. Then, standardized screening and evaluation tests are used to more accurately determine the extent of cognitive impairment.

How Should Treatment of Cognitive Functions Be Planned in Therapy?
Cognitive rehabilitation is carried out in four phases:

• Process Training: Focusing on all functions underlying cognitive components
• Strategy Training: Focusing on compensatory approaches
• Functional Activity Training: Targeting daily living activities and cognitive skill development
• Education: Focusing on enhancing self-awareness

Occupational therapists, with their individualized approaches, enable people to participate in society more independently and without restriction.

Occupational therapists play a vital role in supporting adults with cognitive impairments. They help facilitate new neural pathways, adapt and retrain activities to improve functional skills. By enhancing individuals’ participation in self-care, work, leisure, and community activities, they reduce the burden on caregivers and community resources while improving quality of life.