TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS
Traumatic or Acquired Injuries
Brain Injuries, Concussion, Head Injury, TBI
Dementia
Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Intellectual Abilities – Intelligence / IQ
Gifted Evaluations
Mental Retardation
Adaptive Abilities / Functioning
Behavior and Adjustment
Competencies
Learning Disabilities
Language Assessment - Expressive/Receptive
Assessment for Testing Accommodations
- LSAT, GRE, MCAT, etc.
Psychological Assessment / Personality Evaluations
Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, Alcohol/Drug, PTSD
Medical and Pre-surgical Psychological Evaluations
-Bariatric
-Surgery
-Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
-Chronic Pain
Career and Vocational Interests
Forensic Evaluations
Psychological & Neuropsychological IME's
(Independent Medical Examinations)
Fitness for Duty
Disability Evaluations
Personal Injury Evaluations
Worker's Compensation Evaluations
Assessment of Malingering & Dissimulatio
Competency & Sanity Evaluations
Neuropsychological Assessment
- Attention
- Sensory-Perceptual
- Motor speed and coordination
- Visuospatial/Visuoconstructive
- Executive Functions
- Memory
Commonly Used Tests in Neuropsychological Assessment
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COMMON PSYCHIATRIC, NEUROLOGICAL, DEVELOPMENTAL & OTHER CONDITIONS
Developmental/Childhood Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Asperger’s Disorder
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder
- Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Eating Disorders
- Social Anxiety Disorder / Shyness
- Childhood mood disorders / Anxiety
- Anoxia, Childhood Epilepsy, Brain Tumors
- Cerebral Palsy
Learning Disabilities
- Reading Disorder (dyslexia)
- Mathematic Disorder
- Writing Disorders
- Nonverbal Learning Disorders
- Expressive or Receptive Language Disorders
- Coordination Disorders
Personality and Psychiatric Disorders
- Depression
- Anxiety / Panic Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Bipolar Disorder
- Alcohol/Drug
- Schizophrenia
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Post-Partum Depressive Disorder
- Somatoform Disorders
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Personality Disorders
- Eating Disorder
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ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT SERVICES
Psychological and neuropsychological assessment Services are often used to assist in diagnosis of mental and nervous (psychiatric) conditions. Assessments are also used or necessary in determinations of eligibility for services or accommodations, to assist in vocational, career and academic planning, fitness for duty, competencies, and determinations of safety to perform dutites. Psychological and neuropsychological evaluation can identify areas in need of rehabilitation, are used to evaluate extent and type of injury, make determinations of abilities and disabilities, assists in pre-surgical assessment, can be used to monitor medication and treatment response, and often guides treatment planning. Psychological assessment is also used to assess response bias. Often, batteries of tests are supplemented with more specific measures of areas, problems, or questions raised by the diagnostic differential in question.
Since conclusions bases on neuropsychological or psychological assessment or testing can have important impact on diagnosis, treatment, and judgments used for determinations of eligibility or benefts, psychological reports become important documents which will tend to be relied upon for current and future conclusions and opinions. It is therefore critical that patients, physicians, attorneys and others using these services seek experienced licensed psychologists who conduct thorough evaluations. When judgments are being made, short-cuts and screening procedures are risky.
Ethical standards and standards on the use of psychological tests are clear that tests should not be used on their own. Care must be taken to assure tests are appropriate and that results are integrated and interpreted with hsitory, interview, and other sources of material. While testing may be assisted or adminsitered by a psychological technician or psychometrician, interpretation and integration of the results (i.e. the interpretation of results and conclusions) should always be done by a psychologist.
Our committment to quality psychological assessment and treatment begins with a detailed history form (15-25 pages) which reviews presenting complaints, additional concerns, health history, occupational, legal, and treatment history, development, psychosocial information, and a review of psychological and neurological symptoms. This is generally done for both our assessment and treatment patients. Abbreviated histories are used in some cases such as facilitating rapid intake of EAP employees and to reduce fatigue for elderly patients and children. This is supplemented by a formal mental status examination and review of current and past psychiatric symptoms. This process, which may occur during an assessment day, or in 2-3 initial sessions before testing is part of a philosophy that good evaluation is an important key to effective management and treatment. Assessments which tend to only examine, ask about and focus on a symptom or presumed problem are prone to miss other causes, co-occurring conditions or alternate difficulties which can lead to misdiagnosis and ineffectice treatment plans.
Psychological testing may involve personality testing with an age-appropriate broad range personality test which examines mood difficulties, possibility of psychosis, anxiety disorders and personality adjustment. This is very often appropriate to assist when there appears to be a possibility of more than one diagnosis, a complex diagnostic picture, need to identify primary and secondary problems or in some cases where decisions need to be made regarding medications, safety, or immediate planning needs. More specific tests involving specific disorders, or issues may be used to provide more detailed information , to offer confirmation, or further diagnostic differential. For example, specific tests may be used for eating disorders, chronic pain, medical adjustment, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorders and others. Often parent-report behavioral and personality inventories are used in the assessment of children or adolescents.
Needless to say, this devotion of time is usually precluded by managed care plans, and we do not participate in these. We are often asked for second opinions in complicated cases, when treatment seems to be not working, or when less formal assessments have led to diagnosis of serious conditions.
Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment is even more intensive, often involving a 2-3 day battery of tests employed to study neurological conditions or medical and psychiatric conditions which can impact on neuropsychological abilities of attention, memory, intelligence, reading, writing, language, nonverbal skills, construction, motor skills and coordination, planning, multi-tasking, and/or executive functions.
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