Services
Assessment
Medicolegal
Intervention
Supervision
Assessment
A neuropsychological assessment is a specialist assessment of cognition or thinking skills (such as memory, attention, or executive functions), emotional regulation and behaviour.
Jane assesses youth (aged 16+), adults and older adults.
Common conditions assessed include: Traumatic Brain Injury (from road traffic accidents, falls and assaults), Concussions, Stroke, Hypoxic Brain Injury, Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders, Dementias, neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Infections, Brain Tumour, ADHD and Learning Difficulties.
A neuropsychological assessment:
- provides a detailed profile of the patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, so that recommendations and practical strategies can be made to overcome or compensate for functional difficulties.
- helps with diagnosis of cognitive impairment, particularly in cases where changes are subtle and not evident on short cognitive screening assessments or neuroimaging.
- guides treatment planning, rehabilitation, educational and vocational planning,
- clarify eligibility for Centrelink, TAC, Workcover, NDIS funding application, disability support services, school based funding and other supports (e.g., Special Examination Arrangements for VCE assessments, access for Disability Liaison or special consideration at university).
Find out more about Neuropsychological Assessments here.
A neuropsychological assessment requires about 10 hours or more to complete depending on complexity. This includes interview, face-to-face assessment, scoring and analysis of test data, reviewing documents, gathering background information, report writing, and feedback.
Fees for this service are in accordance with the Australian Psychological Society recommended hourly rates or third-party funding rates for psychologists e.g., TAC / NDIS.
There is no Medicare rebate for neuropsychological assessments.
Medicolegal
A medicolegal assessment is a specialised neuropsychological assessment that provides objective expert opinion on the individual’s cognitive function in the context of their medicolegal situation.
Medicolegal assessments are used in personal injury claims, disability claims, fitness to return to work, e,g, Worksafe, road injury TAC claims, and insurance claims.
Medicolegal assessments can also address decision making capacity for example, evaluate a person’s ability to make their own will or their own decisions about personal legal matters (e.g. appointing power of attorney, deciding where they are going to live, managing finances).
Intervention
Cognitive Rehabilitation
Changes to cognition (thinking skills) such concentration, memory or problem-solving, are common after an injury to the brain.
Cognitive rehabilitation (therapy interventions):
- involves examining what has changed, re-training skills, and/or using practical strategies to compensate for problems, coaching to encourage behaviour change.
- is personalised for the person with the brain injury (and their family), taking into account their needs, values, goals, and personalities.
- helps individuals make the most of their strengths and abilities to increase self-efficacy and confidence to find better ways to manage changes.
- typically occurs weekly or fortnightly and can range from a few short sessions to extended contact over the course of a year or more.
Concussion Services
A concussion is a form of mild traumatic brain injury that may have happened during sport, car accidents or falls. Headache, sensitivity to light/noise, mood changes and poor sleep / fatigue are common. If you are still experiencing symptoms 2 weeks after your accident you may benefit from assessment and/or support to better manage the symptoms and engage with life again.
Supervision
Jane is an APHRA Psychology Board-approved clinical Supervisor for candidates of Higher Degrees in Neuropsychology. She is available to provide peer supervision.
To find out more about Clinical Neuropsychologists from the Australian Psychological Society, click here.
