Neuropsychological Formulation


Book Description

This forward-looking reference defines and illustrates the process and themes of formulation in neuropsychology and places it in the vanguard of current practice. The book explains the types of information that go into formulations, how they are gathered, and how they are synthesized into a clinically useful presentation describing psychological conditions resulting from neurological illness or injury. Cases highlight the relevance and flexibility of narrative- and diagram-based formulation methods in approaching a diverse range of issues and conditions, from decisional capacity to cultural considerations, Huntington's disease to deep dyslexia. Throughout this volume, formulation is shown as integral to treatment and rehabilitation planning alongside clinical assessment, cognitive testing, and diagnosis. Included among the topics: The interface of neuroimaging with neuropsychological findings in traumatic brain injury. Neuropsychological aspects of temporal-lobe epilepsy: seeking evidence-based practice. An integrative approach to differential diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage and Korsakoff’s dementia. Educational disengagement following mild TBI in childhood. Themes in the formulation of repeat assessments. Cognitive neuropsychological formulation. Formulation is essential in good neuropsychological assessment as it provides the foundation for appropriate intervention by bringi ng together the results of different evaluations into a coherent whole. . . . Macniven’s compelling and constructive book has assembled internationally known experts from diverse backgrounds to provide illumination of their own views and approaches to formulation, which makes the book a pleasure to read and should establish it as essential reading on clinical psychology and neuropsychology training courses. – Professor Barbara A. Wilson OBE, Ph.D., D.Sc. Neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, and rehabilitation specialists will find Neuropsychological Formulation of critical importance not only to the literature of the field, but also to the developing role of clinical neuropsychology within healthcare systems.




Essentials of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation


Book Description

For people with disabilities caused by nonprogressive brain injury, challenges in everyday living can be multifaceted and overwhelming. This book presents key principles of holistic neuropsychological rehabilitation, helping practitioners stay on track through complex terrain. Leading authorities Barbara A. Wilson and Shai Betteridge provide a framework for effective intervention based on a collaborative understanding of clients' strengths and needs. They describe essential strategies for assessing and remediating the impact of cognitive and psychosocial problems in everyday life. Detailed case examples illustrate the process of building partnerships with families, setting meaningful goals, developing skills and supports, and addressing emotional and mental health concerns. Innovative uses of technology are highlighted. Several reproducible clinical tools can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.




A Patient’s Workbook for Functional Neurological Disorder


Book Description

This self-help workbook offers guidance for people coping with functional neurological disorder (FND), as well as their partners, families, friends, and healthcare professionals. It uses a visual metaphor based on the groundbreaking new Pressure Cooker Model to help you understand the condition and to reduce the symptoms. Firmly rooted in neuropsychological principles, this model is practical and relatable, bridging the gap between theoretical and clinical models of FND. The Pressure Cooker Model focuses on the person with FND, as well as the contribution of the person’s environment, interactions, relationships, and surroundings to FND, and looks to improve recovery, reduce stigma and increase FND awareness, providing a radical shift in thinking about FND. Grounded in neuropsychology, this book helps people understand their FND triggers, as well as their emotional and physical symptoms, and offers many strategies for self-care and building healthy relationships. The book is accompanied by an extensive set of entirely free online resources and templates to help people with FND manage a range of genuine and disabling functional neurological symptoms, from motor symptoms (such as tremors, functional weakness, and gait difficulties, to sensory symptoms such as tingles and numbness, and cognitive symptoms such as memory and concentration difficulties or brain fog, and dissociative seizures. It is valuable reading for anyone with FND, their partners, families, and friends, as well as healthcare professionals in any field working with people with FND.




The Neuropsychology Fact-finding Casebook


Book Description

Use of a structured fact-finding approach that is based on sound clinical judgment and applied flexibility facilitates good clinical decision making and patient care in neuropsychology. This Casebook is a standardized approach to fact-finding that training programs at various levels can use to help trainees develop significant evaluation skills such as case conceptualization, differential diagnosis, and recommendations for patients with a wide range of presenting problems.




Rare Conditions, Diagnostic Challenges, and Controversies in Clinical Neuropsychology


Book Description

This book highlights those rare, difficult to diagnose or controversial cases in contemporary clinical neuropsychology. The evidence base relevant to this type of work is almost by definition insufficient to guide practice, but most clinicians will encounter such cases at some point in their careers. By documenting the experiences and learning of clinicians who have worked with cases that are ‘out of the ordinary’, the book addresses an important gap in the literature. The book discusses 23 challenging and fascinating cases that fall outside what can be considered routine practice. Divided into three sections, the text begins by addressing rare and unusual conditions, defined as either conditions with a low incidence, or cases with an atypical presentation of a condition. It goes on to examine circumstances where an accurate diagnosis and/or coherent case formulation has been difficult to reach. The final section addresses controversial conditions in neuropsychology, including those where there is ongoing scientific debate, disagreement between important stakeholders, or an associated high-stakes decision. This text covers practice across lifespan and offers crucial information on specific conditions as well as implications for practice in rare disorders. This book will be beneficial for clinical neuropsychologists and applied psychologists working with people with complex neurological conditions, along with individuals from medical, nursing, allied health and social work backgrounds. It will further be of appeal to educators, researchers and students of these professions and disciplines.




Supervision in Neuropsychology


Book Description

"Clinical supervision is one of the primary means by which health service psychologists learn to provide clinical care to patients or clients (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). Clinical supervision has been conceptualized as an intervention that consists of a collaborative and evaluative relationship in which the supervisor monitors the professional services offered and serves as a gatekeeper of those who are entering the profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004). In the general fields of clinical and counseling psychology, supervision is one of the top five activities performed by psychologists (Peak, Nussbaum, & Tindell, 2002). During the last three decades, the importance of clinical supervision has been recognized in clinical psychology in various ways. First, in 1996, the American Psychological Association (APA) required accredited training programs to provide students and interns with training in supervision (APA, 1996). In 2004, supervision was identified as one of eight core competencies in psychology (Kaslow, 2004) and further elaborated into specific supervision competencies (Falender et al., 2004). In 2014, the APA board of educational affairs published specific Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology (APA, 2014). Supervision guidelines have also been published by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) (CPA, 2010). Despite the importance of supervision in clinical psychology, not all psychologists report receiving formal training in clinical supervision (Peak, Nussbaum, & Tindell, 2002; Schwent Shultz, Pederson, Roper, & Rey-Casserly, 2014)"--




Essentials of Psychological Assessment Supervision


Book Description

The only pocket-size reference on supervising psychological testing and assessment In 2014, the American Psychological Association (APA) adopted a set of guidelines for clinical supervision for health service psychology. While technically covered by these guidelines, supervising clinical psychological assessment includes additional tasks (such as ensuring accurate administration, scoring, and interpretation of tests) and tensions. Supervisors must often instruct supervisees on the data-integration process—which can involve more direct teaching than standard clinical supervision—while encompassing the same interpersonal, therapeutic, and less structured guiding aspects as psychotherapy supervision. It is increasingly common to view clinical supervision in the assessment process and supervision of psychotherapy as two significantly different tasks. Surprisingly, there is very little training and guidance available on appropriate, effective, and beneficial methods of psychological assessment supervision. Essentials of Psychological Assessment Supervision seeks to remedy the lack of literature in this area, offering guidance on supervising psychological testing and assessment. This much-needed guide provides supervisors with authoritative, up-to-date information on guidelines relevant to assessment supervision. Additionally, detailed coverage of supervision of cognitive, personality/emotional, psychoeducational, neuropsychological, forensic, and therapeutic assessments, among others, provide supervisors with guidance and structure in the supervision process. Focusing on practical application, this book offers guidance on topics such as assessment models appropriate in different areas of assessment; diversity issues; evaluation and feedback of supervisee performance; and ethical, legal, and regulatory considerations relevant in each assessment context. An invaluable resource for practitioners, this book: Offers practical advice on supervising a wide range of clinical psychological assessments Includes contributions from experts in their respective subfields Provides guidance on incorporating new American Psychological Association (APA) and Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) guidelines into the supervision process Fills an urgent need for an up-to-date reference on assessment supervision Essentials of Psychological Assessment Supervision is a must-have reference for both psychology practitioners who supervise the assessment process and instructors of psychological testing and assessment.




Neuropsychological Assessment in the Age of Evidence-Based Practice


Book Description

Evidence-based practice has become the benchmark for quality in healthcare and builds on rules of evidence that have been developed in psychology and other health-care disciplines over many decades. This volume aims to provide clinical neuropsychologists with a practical and approachable reference for skills in evidence-based practice to improve the scientific status of patient care. The core skills involve techniques in critical appraisal of published diagnostic-validity or treatment studies. Critical appraisal skills assist any clinician to evaluate the scientific status of any published study, to identify the patient-relevance of studies with good scientific status, and to calculate individual patient-probability estimates of diagnosis or treatment outcome to guide practice. Initial chapters in this volume review fundamental concepts of construct validity relevant to the assessment of psychopathology and cognitive abilities in neuropsychological populations. These chapters also summarize exciting contemporary development in the theories of personality and psychopathology, and cognitive ability, showing a convergence of theoretical and clinical research to guide clinical practice. Conceptual skills in interpreting construct validity of neuropsychological tests are described in detail in this volume. In addition, a non-mathematical description of the concepts of test score reliability and the neglected topic of interval estimation for individual assessment is provided. As an extension of the concepts of reliability, reliable change indexes are reviewed and the implication of impact on evidence-based practice of test scores reliability and reliable change are described to guide clinicians in their interpretation of test results on single or repeated assessments. Written by some of the foremost experts in the field of clinical neuropsychology and with practical and concrete examples throughout, this volume shows how evidence-based practice is enhanced by reference to good theory, strong construct validity, and better test score reliability.




Developmental Neuropsychology


Book Description

This fully updated edition of Developmental Neuropsychology: A Clinical Approach addresses key issues in child neuropsychology with a unique emphasis on evidence-informed clinical practice rather than research issues. Although research findings are presented, they are described with emphasis on what is relevant for assessment, treatment and management of paediatric conditions. The authors focus on a number of areas. First, the text examines the natural history of childhood central nervous system (CNS) insult, highlighting studies where children have been followed over time to determine the impact of injury on ongoing development. Second, processes of normal and abnormal cerebral and cognitive development are outlined and the concepts of brain plasticity and the impact of early CNS insult discussed. Third, using a number of common childhood CNS disorders as examples, the authors develop a model which describes the complex interaction among biological, psychosocial and cognitive factors in the brain-injured child. Finally, principles of evidence-based assessment, diagnosis and intervention are discussed. The text will be of use on advanced undergraduate courses in developmental neuropsychology, postgraduate clinical training programmes and for professionals working with children in clinical psychology, clinical neuropsychology and educational and rehabilitation contexts. The text is also an important reference for those working in paediatric research.




Understanding Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology


Book Description

Understanding Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology thoroughly examines the meaning of culture in the context of neuropsychology, focusing on the fundamental neuroscience underlying how different aspects of culture influence neuropsychological test performance, and how that is related to brain function. It explores in detail the relationship between brain activity and culture, and the influence of various cultural, educational, and linguistic factors on neuropsychological test performances across various cognitive domains. Written by leadings researchers in cross-cultural neuropsychology, the book first introduces the basic concepts in the field. It goes on to focus on the influence of cultural variables on specific domains of cognition, including perception, attention, memory, language, and executive functions. It also explores the implications of cross-cultural neuropsychology in practice, including a focus on test adaptation, the use of interpreters, the influence of acculturation, and the practice of neuropsychological rehabilitation in different cultural settings. This book is essential reading for neuropsychologists and related practitioners working with culturally diverse clients, who need a good grasp of the cultural impacts on neuropsychological test performance when assessing clients from different cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. It is also valuable for neuropsychologists in countries around the world who need a means of understanding the ways in which their culture impacts the performances of their clients on tests, which have been mostly developed in the U.S. or other Western cultures.