A neuropsychologist can assist in several situations. If you have experienced an injury to the brain, have an illness that could affect the brain, or have a possible dementia process occuring, we can help. We can help you understand what changes, if any, have occured, and can help track your recovery or the disease progression.
Neuropsychologists typically see people who have experienced any of the following:
Alternately, if you don't have a diagnosis or history of any of the above, you can see a neuropsychologist if you are experiencing any of the following:
A neuropsychological assessment can occur in or out of hospital, depending on the reason you are seeking help. Typically I would first see you for one hour to get a detailed history, and then for 1 to 2 hours to do the assessment. Thereafter, you will receive detailed feedback and advice for moving forward.
In the first session, we will talk about your medical and psychological history, and why you are seeking help. If you have a medical history of head injury or disease affecting the brain, it is very useful to bring along any brain scan reports, or the details of the scans so I can source them. You should also bring along a list of current medical diagnoses and your current medications. We will talk about what is bothering you, and try establish timelines for when you experienced any changes in cognition, mood, behaviour or personality. You are welcome to bring someone with your if they can help you with this information.
Once I have a good understanding of what is bothering you and the history of your difficulties and medical situation, we can do a neuropsychological assessment. This involves a series of tasks tailored to your situation. I will ask you questions and see how you respond, and we will do some pen-and-paper activities. Each task is designed to see how your brain responds to different tasks, and how different brain processes are interacting. This will show me your strengths, and which processes may be undermined.
Approximately a week after the assessment, we will meet again for your feedback session. You are welcome to bring someone with you to this session if you would like their support or for them to also gain a better understanding of what you're experiencing. In this session I will explain what processes are affected by your current situation, and how you can adapt to these changes. The goal is for you to better understand how your brain is working now so that you can adapt your approach to daily living in a way that optimises your functioning and happiness.