I have experienced this twice. It can be grueling at times, but worth it. This is especially true if you may have been diagnosed with other disorders such as depression or anxiety. What makes it grueling is that it stretches your brain in several directions within a three to four-hour span. If a professional has recommended this assessment, by all means, take the time to do it. As a highly educated person, it was difficult to understand that I have a learning disability. It is nothing to be ashamed of any more than my living with epilepsy for over fifty years. There is a definite connection to my living with epilepsy and my having a learning disability. This video is the best that I have found that describes the test in the most basic terms.
As a psychiatric nurse practitioner I appreciate this. It always surprises me how often people (even primary care providers) do not know what this is or really the difference between psychiatry and psychology (I get referred to as a "psychologist" all the time). I refer for neuropsych testing frequently to help clarify some diagnosis. I always say psychiatry, psychology and neurology are all work on the brain in different ways, we are in the sandbox together, but we are not interchangeable.
Psychiatrists diagnose and prescribe medication for mental disorder or psychological issues. Psychologist is a fancy term for therapist. Neurology is a more advanced field of study and action it requires many more years of education and it can lead to brain surgeon as a possible job or career.
I'm a paranoid schizophrenic with ptsd and I'm studying to be a psychologist. My wife is a nurse and her field is cardiology. I have to know the difference for my own need and necessity.
@@clydefang2058 Good luck with that, but a psychologist is much more than a "fancy term for a therapist". Perhaps you should do a little more research in the field if you truly are going to in to psychology. Also Neurologists and brain surgeons are completely different animals.
After two years of trying to see help for my wife, we have finally landed at this point, and I would like to strangle my primary care doctor for being so incompetent at helping us find the right help. If you have a heart problem, you know you need a cardiologist. mental health is fairly unnavigatible to the person needing the help.
Robert! I'd love to hear you talk about so many things. Here are a few: 1. How the body remembers trauma (affects on the limbic system, "survival/fight or flight" mode, adrenals etc) 2. Intergenerational mental health issues, like second hand trauma, living with a parent with a mental health and/or mood disorder 3. Communicating with a partner about your mood disorder 4. The spectrum of treatment for mental health/mood disorders. Options like: movement meditation, mindfulness based cognitive therapy, therapy lights, exercise, journaling, etc. anything related to self care 5. Building resilience and self compassion when you are experience difficulty, depression, etc These are all thoughts that have been very pertinent to me during my recovery from depression. My father died by suicide when I was 18 (I'm 26 now), and a lot of the shock and post traumatic stress has stayed with me. I have invested a tremendous about of time and effort this year into unlearning shame, guilt, conditional self love, maladaptive perfectionism... But this is always an evolving and ongoing conversation! So grateful to have found this channel a few years ago.
I love learning about psychology, so these videos are great. I've always wondered how you test people, or come to the conclusion, that someone has a personality disorder. Thanks for being so educational ! 😄
Question: Can an assessment be made through a digital testing performance of the client to give computation results to the neuropsychologist rather than thruogh an interview?
I was first introduced to all of this when I started having seizures, when I was about 8 years old. It took some time, a variety of tests, and working with several doctors of different specialties to officially get the epilepsy diagnosis. It was complicated to diagnose because I never remember my seizures, so I could never explain them to doctors
This is pretty much the process Vocational Rehabilitation sent me to a few years ago, and I finally got a diagnosis of dyscalculia. It's pretty severe--I can't really do jobs where there is any kind of accounting, budgeting, or number analysis (practically everything). In fact, I had the perfect job and it changed to that right out from under me, so now I'm unemployed and have to start all over. 😠 (Maybe one of my novels will hit it big and I'll never have to do it again--ha ha, you never know!) Even so, it really felt good to finally find out what the hell was going on. For most of my life, I just thought I was stupid. 😐
Yes! I actually also recorded a video about learning disabilities that I'll probably put out next week. SO many people with LDs feel like they are dumb because they have to try harder than everyone else to get the same product. Really it's pretty amazing that they are often able to put in so much effort!
Looking forward to watching that video. I agree--and if you disclose, then people either start treating you like you ARE dumb, or they don't believe you. Especially if you are good at anything else. I get so tired of trying to explain that no, just because I can write whole novels doesn't mean I can learn to make complex formulas in Excel. That part of my brain *does not work right.* I can use the program, but someone else has to set up the formulas. Of course, nobody wants to do that. They need you to do everything. So one task means I'm out of the running. If I had to choose a disability, it would not have been dyscalculia. If I could do math, at least I could get a decent job. ☹
I have to take a neuropsychological test for my job since I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. I’m a little worried about it. I need to prove that my functionality is completely within normal limits and lacking any suspicion of aeromedically significant neurocognitive deficit. When l’m worried I tend to over prepared, I don’t know if this is something I can study for. Is it something I can study for and if so, what would that look like?
Hi! I liked your video very much, it was informative and easy to understand as a beginner practical nurse. I would like to know more about the rehabilitation process from the neuropsychological perspective. I have had a hard time to find information about it. Good information always gets out in english first, there is very few videos about neuropsychology in my language (swedish). Someone (maybe I should) translate your videos.
I love this video because this is exactly what I want to do. It seems like whenever people ask me what I plan to do after graduation and I say "i want to be a neuropsychologist" they just go completely blank and have no idea what I'm talking about so I'll definitely have to save the link to this. I'm curious though, What do you like about your job? I lthink everything about neuropsychology is so interesting, but the idea of sitting for hours and then writing reports is a biiiiiitttt daunting /: Also, I'm a senior right now so I already got my acceptances for my my top two schools for undergrad with a major in Psychology (yay!), but what would be the next step four years down the line once I get my degree? I can't find very clear answers on google.Thanks! (:
It is a bit daunting, but it's really cool when you can take all the data and then put together a real picture of someone's functioning or help lead them toward a helpful diagnosis. For me the key is having some variety. I would get sick of ONLY doing testing or report writing all the time. To practice neuropsych assessment independently you need a Ph.D. You can do the testing with a masters but not the interpretation or report writing. After getting your bachelors in psych, you can either do a masters program and then a Ph.D. or you can go straight into a Ph.D. program. The doctoral programs in psych are extremely competitive, but most are fully funded so its worth the effort.
I hope I am not repeating a question, but how does a neuropsychologist test chronic pain issues? My pain management doctor just referred me to a neuropsychologist for 6 hours of testing. I have chronic nerve pain and my doctor wants to look into how much my depression/anxiety plays a role in my chronic nerve pain. I just want to know what expect. Thanks.
this is what I'm learning about in university right now!! my cognition lectures have been about the theory behind this kind of thing. It's very cool to hear about how this is applied!!
i'v got a assessment coming up on the 30th of may, I remember doing one of the these over 10years ago, the stupid DVLA and past the tests and could not deny my driving licence anymore. I took lessons in car years ago and I was ready to do my test
Hi Dr. Duff, are you still monitoring this channel, are you still in practice? With DID, say, with rapid changes from one personality to another, is. there a mini-psyche-battery of tests that could be administered in less than 5 minutes? Why? Because you might have no longer than that before the personality state changes - or tries to mask itself
PhD in clinical psychology and then a "postdoctoral internship" in neuropsychology. Some people in the field opt for board certification, but it's not required to practice and a bit of a racket in my opinion.
@@eyekandy3000 The verbiage is a little different for phd vs md. As a psychologist, you do a pre-doctoral and a post-doctoral internship, which are basically what you would consider to be followships. This is at least how it works in the US.
@@duffthepsychI’ve heard of a pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship. And medical school graduates have residencies with their first year called an intern year. From my understanding. Thanks for responding though! I’m just interested in what training is needed to be considered a Clinical Neuropsychologist
Thanks for this! You left a message on my mother's phone telling her to look through Kaiser and now I have an appointment next week lol. I'm pretty excited.
I enjoyed learning about the methods used in this field. Likely I would never have searched for this info until it was something I needed to know about in my personal life, but I'm glad I learned about it. It brought to mind some questions I have that I've never looked into, specifically the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's.
I did appreciate the clarity of explanation within a 6.5min time frame. My question is I have a notable TBI (related vascular issues & now brain tumor) how can I find a good neuropsychologist?
It's a little hard to say. I think that you need to be careful of looking at rating websites because most patients will not rate a doctor since it violates their own confidentiality. If you can get a personal recommendation through a neurologist that you work with, that would be a great way. Otherwise, doing some research on your own and looking at their websites etc. You could always contact them an ask what their experience with TBI patients is etc.
Battery is just the term for a group of tests given together. So a general neuropsych batter will consist of tests of memory, language, attention, executive functioning, processing speed etc.
Mariela Barzallo they would do tests of attention where you have to pay attention to a stimulus for an extended period of time to see if your ability to maintain attention decreases over time or if you make impulsive mistakes. They will probably also look at emotional factors to make sure it’s not actually just anxiety etc. A good test will also look at something called executive functioning (higher level skills like organization and multitasking) and also a good history from your childhood.
What if you think you have a personality/dissociative disorder? Can they diagnose that because I'm in a lot of emotional pain right now and I would do absolutely anything for help. my school counselor referred me onto a neuropsychiatrist and I'm more concerned about my emotional pain
I think they idea with a neuropsychologist/psychiatrist would be to rule out a neurological component. For example, epilepsy can cause episodes that feel a lot like dissociation. But we can also look into the emotional side of things. In a lot of cases, it's about getting a starting place, ruling some things out, then pointing you in the right direction for additional diagnostic work.
I want to be a psychologist I’m a undergraduate still trying to obtain high school equivalency diploma. I’m afraid of that I have low vocabulary skill and poor memory, not sure if this would be the right career for me. I been in a 10 year relationship with a narcissist who is medically diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it’s a cataclysmic nature to find this field very intriguing.
Hi Doctor Robert I’m wondering how education plays a part,say for example if someone where to go to university as a mature student as opposed to going in straight after school-is there a difference take on people’s results Thank you
Most of the tests are administered TO the patient. So usually the psych has a booklet in front of them where they will write the responses and scores. It usually also has standardized instructions.
Hello Duff first I wanna say that I'm enjoying your channel alot I find it very informative and helpful. I'm a psychology student who is about to specialize and I find neuropsychology fascinating and highly intresting but I want to know can a clinical neuropsychologist conduct psychotherapies like a clinical psychologist or is the activity only centered about individuals with seizures and dementia? Sorry for my English.
At least in the USA, a clinical neuropsychologist is just a clinical psychologist with specialized training, so they can definitely practice therapy. I personally do therapy, testing, speaking, and writing.
I saw a neuropsychologist in it was a 4 hour test in total. I am waiting for the results. I have a memory “issue” so they are testing all sorts of memory conditions. Waiting for results ! They were supposed to be done today the office called and said they need another week to complete the evaluation.
When u do clinical neuropsychology Is there a practical side to neuropsychologists? And if u do clinical neuropsychology can u go to either clinical or neuropsychology field?
Does the test with the two dimensional blocks have to do with motor planning specifically? I was shadowing an OT the other day and the client was told to put a puzzle together while looking at the completed picture. He is in OT due to motor planning difficulties as well as other problems that persist with autism.
why do uou use drawings of animals.. is that to do with visual perception as well.does that test for visual .as well. and how do you determine education level. say for instance highschool vs college level.. are there test you use to determin education level..
What is the best place to get neuropschology cognitive test done for adult and kids. Please share top 5 places in usa that can help dyslexia diagnosis and give written evaluation that school/ academic coaches can use
What if you hit your frontal lob forehead when you are young and later you get adhd and you can’t remember the steps with math problems but you can remember numbers
That's certainly a limitation. But that's one of the reasons we gather a thorough history to try to figure out any pre-existing issues. There are also some measures that are more resistant to change, which can be a good indicator of "premorbid functioning." And then you do get a lot of information by comparing someone's performance to the norms. Even if you can't exactly pin down their change over time, you can see the impact of the injury relative to what would be considered typical functioning. These are all useful for treatment.
This video was very helpful for me and my Mom who was just ordered a Neuropsychological Examination. Thanks a lot. BTW, it was the best video I found on the subject. You do great work, TY again.
my school did a battery test for adhd on me, stroop, wauss (sp?), and some some ivas(sp?), something where i had to draw lines to numbers in ascending order, etc.. they said they recommended neuropsychological testing and my results as of their tests would suggest problems with working memory... i thought what they did was neuropsychological testing...? Of what true benefit would it be for me to get a full battery from a neuropsychologist? It is quite expensive, is it even worth it?
That seems like a pretty good ADHD battery to me. They looked at your underlying IQ, your attention performance on boring tasks, a little bit of executive functioning (multitasking / processing speed). Working memory deficits are common in ADHD. If they found that your performance on attention tests was great and you don't have any deficits other than working memory on the battery that they did, that might make sense, but you are right that it can be quite expensive.
Thank you for this video. I just turned 40 and I’ve had my MRI done… failed 2 memory test, and had my CT scan done yesterday. The MRI the doctor said was abnormal. I had white lesions on my brain. My memory is crap! Forgetting my kids names at school, assignments to grade, paying my bills… just crazy man.. I’m so nervous as I have an appointment for this type of evaluation in October…. I haven’t told anyone, but I just needed to see what to look for… thank you for this video again.
Obviously, I can't diagnose you here. But maybe I can give you a little hope. There's a chance that what they are seeing is called "white matter disease", which is essentially blood vessel issues in the middle of your brain. This makes your thinking process slower. So like if you know the name of someone, it might still take you some time or maybe a hint to pull it out. if this is the case, it can be tough to live with, but it would not be a progressive disorder like Alzheimer's that gets worse and worse over time. Again, can't be sure, but it's best if you try to stay positive for the testing and just see how things shake out.
Hi, I am doing biotech atm and I found out about a masters I can do afterwards which is clinical neuropsychology. If I was to do training and a PhD after this would I be able to become a therapist?
I want to go into neuropsychology. I am 40, thinking it's a bit old to start applying for a psy D program with a specialty in neuropsychology. What's your take on that? Also, I had a car accident a while ago, and the neuropsychologist charged $6,000 U.S. dollars for 4 hours of evaluation. Do neuropsychologist usually charge this much for conducting neuropsychological evaluation?
I charge $250/hour. In my case, a patient often requires about 10 hours (1-1.5 hours of interview, 3-4 hours of testing, 1-1.5 hours of scoring assessments, 0.5-1 hour of interview, 4 hours of report writing, and 0.5 or so of choosing assessments and interfacing with assistants). $6000 is a lot if it's not for a forensic case. As to your other point: in pre-doctoral internship, one of my peers was a woman in her 50s or 60s that had a full career in HR, had a brain injury and decided to go back to school and get her Ph.D. She was fantastic.
Good explanation. Do you think an accurate conclusion can be made in a situation where an employer forced an employee to have one done? H&W department are very interfering with employees health. In my case they are disputing adult Adhd. I’m resentful and feel this will affect me considerably.
Emotional state can certainly impact things - ADHD is also not diagnosed through cognitive testing- that can be a part of it, but history, current symptoms, etc. are the more important part. I will say that assessments will also look at effort levels and you can usually tell the difference between emotional difficulties and someone not putting in adequate effort.
Please, how a neuropsychological assessment is made in a kid with ASD and ADHD/ODD with speech delay? Is there any developmental stage the kid had to reach to be assessed?
I had a neuropsychological assessment at UCLA hospital in April. It was for a chromosome research study. it took 5 days and was emotionally traumatizing. But we got good information out of it. You seem like a really good psychologist 😊 thanks for making videos
Hi There! I was wondering if this sort of assesment would be of any use in regards to execuctive functions disorder in a school aged child? Tic disorder or Torrettes Syndrome, early child hood anxiety/panic disorder or a learning disorder? Also, who can refer you for the neuropsycological assessment? Who do I need to see first (steps) to have the assessment done? I would like to hear more about the outcomes for children, what does the assessment do for them long term? How does it benefit them? What strategies are likely to be put into practice once the assessment has been performed? What other professions will be included in the results of the assessment? How are these results communicated to the family and what options are available to them once recieved?
Those are many questions. Yes, neuropsych assessment would be helpful for child/adolescent. There are people that specialize in pediatric neuropsych assessment. A neurologist would be a good place to start.
@@dmitriansaccone2912 We are familiar with them and more interpret the results of them in context of our findings. For instance, if someone has significantly slowed processing speed and their MRI report shows significant microvascular changes, that would help us narrow down the reason for that slowing. We don't often look at and interpret the pictures themselves. That's more the purview of neurologists.
Are you still bartending? Because I like the idea of a real psychologist listening to people's troubles while pouring a drink. That's a good bartender.
Very very helpful! I love psychology and I am currently a 2nd year undergrad at UNC Chapel hill and I am really interested in going into this field of work, especially in the pediatric setting. I am really interested in testing and diagnosing children with problems with learning/ memory and giving them strategies to improve. I have been looking at neuropsychology as a potential fields. I have 1 question, how is this field different from cognitive psychology or rehabilitation neuropsychology? And what educational steps should I expect to make to become either one of these?
Cognitive psychology programs are usually geared more toward research. In the end if you have a Ph.D. in psychology of some type and have the required competency, you can do testing. It's more important to make sure that the program that you choose can give you the required experience.
I love these educational videos. I hope you make more of these. I'd love to hear more about different conditions or therapies. Also, I think it would be pretty neat if you could do a roleplay of such an assessment if that is somehow possible. Keep it up!
An outlier is just someone who is outside the average range. So they could be worse than 99% of their peers (1st percentile) or better than 99% of their peers (99th percentile).
So, i have a question for you. If i need pain (mostly being sad) next to happiness to function normally, would you consider that a condition or just a harmless result of some big life trauma? I was just wondering. It seems like quite often happy can hurt and hurt can feel very positive and happy, i am really interested in you answering this question! And yes, it's not sometimes, it's almost always like that.. I was diagnosed with depression 2 years ago. It makes me think i might have Biploar? Help me out. I really don't wanna go to a psychiatrist again, it's not a fun experience. And no, i consider myself to not be depressed, i am not having any depressing thoughts or anything like that. Just there always gotta be 50% of pain and 50% of happiness for me to function normally. Sometimes it can lead to having more percentage of either happiness and pain, but it's mostly in the middle. I really have no idea what this is.
What would you suggest if a patient cannot take a test that is that long? My father has signs of dementia but cannot do anything for more than 15 mins straight
There are definitely ways to be flexible. I had someone recently who was basically deaf and had Alzheimer’s disease. We did the background interview with him and his son while the patient himself basically slept in the chair. Then for the testing, it was broken up across 3 days to compensate for his fatigue
I have had brain surgery my pre surgery I had psychological issues and post brain surgery I got still psychological issues can you tel me can I recovery from my psychological issues my surgeon also mentioned its cognitive and brain networks issues. And I do feel I am not same person I don't have feelings and emotions please reply me therapies will help me make my brain normal?
You'd likely need to ask your primary care physician or a neurologist for a referral. This type of assessment is often covered by insurance, but of course that depends on your insurance.
