Cognitive dysfunction and competency restoration: using cognitive remediation to help restore the unrestorable.

The goal of this article is to present an argument for using cognitive remediation as an adjunctive form of treatment in competency restoration programs. Clinically, it has been generally agreed that the Dusky standard requires a functional analysis of the defendant's current capacities in the current legal context; merely having a mental illness does not mean incompetency. Based on the recent literature that describes the neuropsychological deficits associated with major psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, it is believed that many psychiatrically ill patients are hindered from returning to the legal process by their inability to understand and acquire the information necessary to be found competent. We argue that cognitive remediation would serve as a helpful form of treatment for incompetent patients to improve their cognitive functioning and consequently, their likelihood of being found competent.