Frequently Asked Questions
How much do your services cost, and do you accept insurance?
Insurance companies consider me to be an out-of-network provider. Depending on your insurance plan and deductible, reimbursement from your company for consultations and psychological or neuropsychological evaluations may be available, though this is not always the case. Full payment is required at the time of service. I am happy to provide payment receipts to you to submit to your insurance carrier for their consideration of reimbursement after the evaluation is completed. Please contact me directly for information regarding pricing of various consultative and evaluation services.
What is Rehabilitation Psychology and what is a Rehabilitation Psychologist?
Rehabilitation Psychology is a specialty area within psychology that focuses on the study and application of psychological knowledge and skills on behalf of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions in order to maximize health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities, and social role participation, across the lifespan.
Rehabilitation Psychologists are uniquely trained and specialized to engage in a broad range of activities including clinical practice, consultation, program development, service provision, research, teaching and education, training, administration, and development of public policy and advocacy related to persons with disability and chronic health conditions.
What is Neuropsychology and what is a Neuropsychologist?
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned specifically with how thinking and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system and how these function and alternately change when neurological dysfunction is present.
A Neuropsychologist is a licensed psychologist that specializes in studying brain-behavior relationships. Neuropsychologists receive extensive training in evaluating learning, cognition, and behavior in relation to neurological structures and systems. By objectively testing various skills, such as attention, memory, and/or language skills, neuropsychologists are able to assess an individual's complexities of global brain functioning in areas that cannot be measured by scans or laboratory tests (e.g. information processing, abstract reasoning, or memory functions). In order to be considered a neuropsychologist, major professional organizations such as APA, NAN, and INS, have outlined specific training guidelines. Specialization in clinical neuropsychology begins at the doctoral (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) level. In addition to gaining essential core academic knowledge, skill competencies must be further developed by completing an APA approved internship with extended speciality preparation in clinical neuropsychology.
What is Forensic Psychology?
Forensic psychology is another subfield within psychology that involves psychological (or neuropsychological) practice in relation to the legal system. This can include both criminal or civil legal cases and can range from extensive medico-legal record reviews, to in-person comprehensive evaluation, summary reports, and sometimes depositions or testifying as an expert witness.
What is the purpose of a comprehensive diagnostic or neuropsychological evaluation?
Evaluations increase our understanding of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning in relation to difficulties that an individual is experiencing, whether at home, school, or in the workplace. This information augments or goes beyond what can realistically be obtained via clinical observations, interview material, or medical findings. Through an interactive assessment combining standardized written tasks, hands-on activities, questionnaires, and computer "games", a greater awareness about present functioning and future risk factors is gained.
Once an individual's unique profile is understood, including areas of relative strengths and weaknesses, specifically tailored recommendations for direct interventions and accommodations are provided. These recommendations are often essential for the development of optimal treatment, educational, or placement plans, or for qualifying for necessary services.
Diagnostic evaluations are also instrumental in re-evaluating current or past clinical impressions or identifying the presence of previously unrecognized disorders. These evaluations can also be utilized to track clinical and/or educational progress over time, serve as baseline when a new disorder or disease process has just been diagnosed, or determine the severity of a medical condition such as epilepsy or traumatic brain injury.
What are the typical parts of an evaluation process?
I personally conduct each component of the evaluation process. Most evaluations include the following:
Initial Intake: At the first appointment, the psychologist meets with the patient and/or his/her family in order to gain an understanding of the reason for referral and to obtain a detailed developmental, medical, psychological, educational and, depending on age, occupational history.
Evaluation: Testing sessions will be scheduled over one to three sessions, depending on the age of the patient and the presenting behaviors of concern. During testing, standardized measures are administered in a systematic manner in an appropriate environment. The same tests are not given to every patient, but rather our team devises an individualized battery. Tests generally include a series of interactive activities that assess language and perceptual processing abilities, attention and memory, other cognitive skills, emotional functioning, and behavior. Parents and/or family members are usually not in the room during testing, although they may be asked to be present on a case-by-case basis. The time required for testing depends on the patient's age and problem. An evaluation may take six or more face-to-face hours and may spread across several sessions, depending on the needs of the patient. Informal feedback may be provided to family members at the end of each session, as appropriate and relevant to the process.
During the course of the evaluation, the following areas may be assessed:
- General intelligence
- Academic achievement
- Attention / concentration
- Executive skills, such as organization, planning, inhibition, and flexibility
- Learning and memory
- Language and communication skills
- Visual-spatial skills
- Motor coordination
- Social interaction skills
- Social-emotional functioning
- Behavior functioning
- Personality and other psychological factors
Some areas of functioning may be measured in more detail than others, depending on individual needs.
Feedback Session: Approximately one to two weeks after the final testing session, a feedback session will be scheduled. This allows the psychologist time to obtain and score report measures and to integrate and interpret all of the results gathered in the interview, record review, testing session(s), and behavior checklists. During the feedback session, each assessment that was completed and the subsequent results will be discussed. Based on the individual's performance, individualized recommendations will be offered that draw upon the individual's strengths and needs. Skills and other areas requiring intervention will be identified, and specific strategies and referrals will be offered, as necessary.
Report: A comprehensive written report documenting the evaluation results, corresponding diagnostic findings, and subsequent recommendations will be provided upon completion of the evaluation, and approximately 2-4 weeks after in-person feedback of the results is conducted by the neuropsychologist.
Families are also offered consultation services both before and after the evaluation process, as needed. Reports are disclosed to other persons, professionals, or agencies upon approriate written authorization by the patient or patient's guardian.
In some contexts, more specifically forensic/legal cases, extensive review of any and all relevant records typically takes place PRIOR to any evaluation, and in some instances may comprise the sole scope of work completed or a substantial amount of it time-wise based on quantity of records. Other components of the evaluation (e.g., report vs. patient feedback) may also not be relevant or appropriate in the context of forensic cases depending on the nature of work completed.
Is there anything else I should know before coming into the office for a testing appointment?
Since comprehensive evaluations often take an entire day, it is important to make sure there has been adequate sleep the night before an evaluation and that the person does not arrive to the session without eating. If special language needs are evident, it is important to be sure that the psychologist is well aware of these. Similarly, if the individual wears glasses, a hearing aid, or any other device, please make sure they bring them. If any medications are prescribed, do not refrain from administering them on the day of testing.
A lot of these questions above relate to neuropsychology. Do you ever just do “regular” evaluations?
Of course! In fact, most of the patients I work with and evaluate are not seeking my services exclusively for neuropsychological assessment. Other areas of speciality for me include assessment/evaluation of psychological functions in general, as well as emotional adjustment to physical disabilities, including those that do not necessarily impact thinking skills. I also further specialize in evaluating trauma-and-stressor-related conditions including but not limited to PTSD.
So you do lots of assessments. Do you ever actually see patients for therapy?
You bet! If appropriate, I am happy to see patients for time-limited psychotherapeutic interventions. The context of this form of service delivery can be determined and tailored to best meet the needs of the patient, including sessions in office, in the community, or via Telehealth utilizing a virtual platform such as Zoom (disclaimer- Telehealth services are available to Florida residents only). If appropriate to context, family interventions as they relate to the primary patient are also a part of my practice, although I do not provide marital therapy or child psychotherapy. I also do not provide psychotherapy on a long-term, indefinite basis.