For Patients
What is neuropsychology?
Neuropsychology is concerned with assessing the relationship between the brain and behaviour, emotions, and cognition. Neuropsychologists conduct evaluations to characterise behavioural and cognitive changes resulting from central nervous system disease or injury or to diagnose various conditions that involve behavioural, cognitive and/or psychological symptoms.
A neuropsychological evaluation involves the use of standardised clinical instruments and formal measures to assess cognition (and objectively identify weaknesses), to identify, confirm or differentiate between diagnoses and to assist with treatment planning (including identifying appropriate supports, compensatory strategies, and to make recommendations regarding treatment, rehabilitation, educational and vocational planning).
These assessments provide useful diagnostic and prognostic information in a wide-range of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Who can it help?
Anyone for whom there are concerns around their thinking/cognitive functioning (for example, changes to memory, and attention/concentration) and the impact of such on their day-to-day functioning. Typically, your treating medical practitioner will refer you for neuropsychological testing.
What to expect?
This involves a 4 to 5-hour appointment (less for older adults) including an approximately 1-hour interview to obtain relevant background and personal history. This is followed by 3 to 4 hours of testing which involves completing various paper-and-pencil tasks to assess various areas of your thinking/cognition (memory, attention, language etc). These appointments can be split into 2 or 3 sessions depending on your needs. Patients are able to take as many breaks as they need during their appointment/s. Family members or anyone else close to you can accompany you to the interview to assist you with providing your relevant history/background, however the testing is conducted only with yourself.
Where to then?
The neuropsychologist then interprets your tests scores based on your unique history (including your medical, psychiatric, educational, and other personal history) and includes these results in a report, which also includes details around your history, and an overall opinion regarding the nature and severity of any cognitive weaknesses. This report will also include whether you meet criteria for any formal diagnoses (if applicable), recommendations around compensatory strategies that may be helpful in an educational or occupational context as well as recommendations around any treatments and other services that may assist you. This report is then sent to your referring medical practitioner to assist with your management/treatment. If your evaluation was privately funded (i.e., by yourself) you will also receive a copy of your report.
A follow up appointment (i.e., “a feedback session”) may also be scheduled with the neuropsychologist to discuss the results of your assessment with you in more detail as well as the recommendations made in the report. This appointment typically takes around an hour and you are encouraged to bring along any questions you may have around your results and report.