Neuropsychological treatment seeks to assist children, adolescents and adults with a variety of neurological, medical, and psychological conditions to improve their daily functioning. For children and adolescents problem areas often include behavior problems (e.g., arguing with parents and teachers, aggression, and oppositional behavior), cognitive problems (e.g., disorganized thinking, poor planning and reasoning abilities, poor time management), social issues (e.g., difficulty making and maintaining friendships), and academic concerns (e.g., struggling with homework, poor study habits, & school failure). Adults tend to have difficulties in relationships (e.g., tension with one’s spouse, developing friendships, and intimacy issues) and work (e.g., chronic lateness, disorganized or subpar work, dealing with stress, coworkers, and supervisors). Although the problems listed above are not exhaustive of all the issues that individuals with neurological and psychological disorders contend with, they represent some of the most frequent areas of concern reported. In addition to the immediate cause of distress, secondary factors can affect the child or adult’s ability to function more effectively. In the case of children and adolescents, attention problems result in poor work and study habits and limit the ability to learn. This results in school failure, causing high levels of stress associated with school and tension with parents who struggle to help their child to succeed. For adults, problems at work can result in economic concerns and these often lead to problems between spouses.
The treatment provided has to account not only for the immediate reasons that have led the patient to seek neuropsychological services, but also to the secondary problems that have arisen. For children, the treatment requires working with the child to develop better ways of dealing with emotions, controlling behavior, and dealing with stress. However, a large focus is placed on helping parents to provide better guidance to their children, enabling them to alter patterns of behavior and interaction that are not effective. Social skills training is also a large component for children (and adults) as this intervention will help make the child more effective with his or her peers and authority figures (i.e., parents and teachers). Treatment for older adolescents and adults involves learning to deal with one’s emotions and the way in which they impact how we feel about ourselves. Certain ways of thinking result in our feeling depressed and anxious and the treatment is focused on changing ineffective patterns of thinking and behavior that prevent us from being more effective at work, in school, and socially.
The treatment approach used at Advanced Psychological Assessment, P.C. is integrative in nature. This means that cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and family-based approaches are integrated in a systematic way to provide treatment that fits better with the needs of each patient. We specialize in the treatment of a variety of disorders that include: ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and helping children, adolescents and adults cope with various medical and neurological disorders such as Epilepsy, Klinefelter’s Syndrome, and Asperger’s Disorder.
The goals of treatment at Advanced Psychological Assessment, P.C. are:
- Helping the patient compensate for areas of weakness.
- Teaching organizational skills to improve functioning in school and work.
- Aiding parents and teachers to set up behavior modification plans for children with challenging behaviors.
- Helping patients and families cope with medical/neurological disorders.
- Developing better social skills to foster friendships, dating, an deal with marital issues.