Embrace the skepticism! Cognitive rehabilitation falls into my personal scope of practice and being skeptical has helped me protect my professional license and personal integrity. The fact of the matter is that although we have many years of neurological study, there are still many mysteries about function. I have found that a skill like memory can be very difficult to separate from other cognitive skills like attention, alertness, comprehension, and also physical consequences of our habits...humans are a complex system operating within larger complex systems. Our respect for it's complexity and efforts to move toward better understanding are important steps in the right direction, but as you mentioned, it's a long road ahead.