Frequently Asked Questions
The following contains answers to common questions regarding available services. However, I understand everyone is unique and may have questions that I have not answered. Please feel free to contact me through this website, or call me regarding any questions you may have. I am happy to answer questions that may have kept you from receiving the services you need.
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS:
What is a Neuropsychological Assessment?
A neuropsychological evaluation is a battery of tests to determine strengths and weaknesses in one's brain functioning. They are useful to diagnose learning disabilities, attentional problems, pervasive developmental disorders, memory impairment, organizational and planning issues, etc. The outcome of this type of evaluation is helpful to understand a child or adult's difficulties in the classroom, understanding how one approaches the world, including problems one may have relating to others, keeping organized and on task, or finding strengths to utilize in the workplace. From this evaluation, specific recommendations can be derived due to the ability to distinguish the strengths and weaknesses in one's brain functioning.
Sometimes after an accident in which a blow to the head has occurred, neurologists may refer for neuropsychological testing to determine the amount of trauma that has occurred in the brain. While a medical work-up may determine the areas affected by the trauma, a neuropsychological evaluation can determine the level of functional impairment that has occurred. The outcome of such an evaluation can help to determine the appropriate aftercare services and areas of follow-up treatment and rehabilitation services needed.
What is included in a School Evaluation? Why might I need an outside evaluation?
When a child is having difficulty in school, it is a parent's right to request an evaluation through the school district. The Committee on Special Education (CSE) will come together to decide if an evaluation should be conducted. When it is deemed appropriate, the members of the CSE will gather relevant information. This includes a psychological evaluation which assesses the child's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, an academic assessment, to determine significant differences between the child's intellectual capacity and academic success, and any relevant social, developmental, or family history that may impact the child's learning. Once the evaluation is complete, the CSE members meet to decide if the child is eligible for special education and related services.
However, sometimes this evaluation is not as complete or thorough as parents had hoped. When this occurs, or when parents do not want the school to conduct the evaluation, parents have the right to seek an outside evaluation. If parents decide to take this route, they are then responsible for informing the school of this decision and the evaluation itself.
My school evaluations consist of a full psychological evaluation, including an IQ test and a full achievement assessment. If a more specialized battery is needed, I will work with you to determine a specialized battery. This could include an attention deficit assessment, neuropsychological evaluation, memory impairment, fine motor impairment, etc., that may impair your child's ability to learn.
I will collaborate with school districts if need be to discuss the findings from the evaluation, as well as make recommendations based on the test results. A school evaluation is typically done in three parts; the initial information gathering session, the assessment with the child, and a follow up session to discuss the results. I am willing to discuss the option of being available for school meetings or contact your child's school if need be.
What is included in a personality/diagnostic assessment?
The need for a personality assessment may arise while working with another mental health professional who may need help gaining insight into the areas most in need of treatment. Sometimes we, or our loved ones, have a group of symptoms that do not seem to typically go together. Or, sometimes we may believe we are suffering from one diagnosis when we may, in fact, be really dealing with underlying symptoms that have not risen to the surface. When there is a question in diagnosis; when treatment has not been effective, when medication has not been helpful, or when we are trying to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves or our loved one, a personality assessment is helpful.
A typical personality assessment may include some brief cognitive tests to rule out the possibility that cognitive factors may be impairing functioning. For adolescents and adults, a combination of objective and projective measures are used to gain an understanding of one's personality structure and functioning. This, in conjunction with a thorough history and symptom rating scales, is included to understand one's personality functioning. In child evaluations, projective measures are used, along with applicable symptom rating scales filled out by parents and teachers.
TREATMENT QUESTIONS:
What should I expect when I call you?
During our first phone conversation, I will ask you questions pertaining to the services you are seeking. Together, we will come up with a plan to best help you. I will ask you basic information about yourself or family member, as well as the problem, and will make a short-term goal regarding our work together. If it is determined that I may be helpful to you or your family member, we will set up an initial appointment. I may not be the person to help you with your specific needs, and when that occurs, I will help you to find what you are looking for, and may offer you contact information for other mental health professionals or related services.
What should I expect to happen during the initial visit?
The initial visit is an information gathering session. This is a time for you and/or your family to determine if you feel comfortable with me and what my services have to offer. It is during this time that together we will set up a plan to move forward with treatment. You are free to ask any questions you may have about my practice, my policies, or my treatment during this visit, as well as any time during the duration of treatment. You will be asked to fill out basic information about yourself or family member and we will go through an intake evaluation in which I ask questions about your particular needs, past psychiatric services, and your own ideas about how my services may help you.
What should I expect in treatment with my child?
I believe it is essential to incorporate family work with treatment with your child. If it is determined that the child will receive individual therapy, I will continue to set up "check-ins" with the family to discuss family issues that may coincide with treatment. While I continue to provide confidential treatment to my clients, including child clients, there are a few additional exceptions to a child's confidentiality that I am upfront and honest about to both my child client and his or her family. I would never breach confidentiality before informing my child client. However, I will ensure safety and understand the importance of family members knowing important information. On the other hand, a child client deserves to feel safe to disclose information they may not have felt comfortable telling another adult. If deemed appropriate, I would work with my child client to disclose information with parents, though a parent needs to have full trust in myself as a therapist and the importance of confidentiality in a therapeutic relationship.
What do you do in family therapy?
Family therapy is a way to understand communication and relationship patterns among family members. A family system is a unique microsystem with unique patterns of thoughts, traditions, and ways to relate to one another. Sometimes when one member or outside influence has interrupted the system, faulty patterns of family functioning impact individual members. It is up to the family therapy to understand how to make changes within the family system so that the system can run more adaptively.
What do you do in group therapy?
Group therapy is highly dependent on the content of the group. In general, however, group therapy provides a unique way to help each member understand how they relate to others. The group itself acts as a model to how one functions in the world. Group members can provide feedback regarding how other group members are perceived by others. Specific issues regarding difficulty in interpersonal situations are typically included in this type of therapy.
What is your theoretical orientation?
My training through Pace University, as well as supervision since that time has been rather eclectic. However, I am heavily influenced by psychodynamic thought, including how we relate to one another in interpersonal ways. I use interpersonal therapy techniques, including using our own therapeutic relationship to gain insight into how you or your family member may relate to the world, and how this has been established in your lifetime. While there are several areas that this is not applicable, including helping to reduce certain anxieties or deal with a current or recent stressors, this is typically my frame in understanding behaviors. I am fully trained and comfortable working as a time-effective therapist, and will do so to the best of my ability. I am a present focused therapist, and am also open to treatment strategies that have been effective for you in the past.
