Posted by Dr Brooke Davis - September 3rd 2020
A neuropsychologist, what’s that? This is the number one question asked of neuropsychologists everywhere. And we don’t mind at all because we love talking about brain and wellbeing science.
Us neuropsychologists are also asked some other questions all the time. So here are the answers.
How is a neuropsychologist different to other psychologists?
Neuropsychologists are psychologists with extra training in the connection between brain function and everyday function. We know how the brain develops and changes across the lifespan, what it does, how it affects learning and life, and what might help when you notice a problem.
Why do people come to see you?
People of all ages come to see us when they (or someone else in their world) have a question about their thinking or learning. The question might come from their medical, learning, or legal journey. Sometimes they want to know how their medical condition affects their thinking, other times it might be a question about thinking and learning for school, uni or work. Sometimes they just notice concentration or memory problems in everyday life and want to understand why, and what to do about it.
What do you actually do?
Neuropsychology work is a bit like detective work. We gather information and look for clues about thinking and wellbeing. Then we put the clues together to answer a set of real life questions. In some situations we might be able to jump straight into working with the client to build plan based on common strategies for common problems. In other situations, a neuropsychological assessment is needed to better understand the problems before the problem solving stage.
What’s a neuropsychological assessment?
A neuropsychological assessment is a detailed assessment of a person’s thinking and learning abilities as well as their psychological wellbeing. It involves talking with the client about their experience, reviewing previous medical or other information, and using standardized tests.
That information is used to get a picture of what’s happening, and to help the client build a plan for moving forward.
Do you like your job?
Yep, sure do. Love it in fact. We get to meet interesting people with interesting problems to solve every day. So what's a neuropsychologist? Well, we know brains and we know wellbeing. If you want to know more, get in touch.
(Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash)
