What Do Neuro Psych Test Evaluations Involve?
If you aren’t sure what a neuropsychological evaluation is, you aren’t alone. It sounds highly scientific and experimental, right? Actually, it isn’t at all.
While it sounds intimidating, it’s very simple and straightforward. Neurosychological evaluations are most commonly suggested to have done by a primary doctor or a child’s teacher.
You might be fearful about having to have one done. However, we are here to assure you that it not what it sounds like at all. Let’s dive in.
What Does Neuropsychological Mean?
To understand what this evaluation entails, we’ll talk a little bit about what neuropsychological means.
Neuropsychology is the combination of neurology, psychology, and psychiatry. It is the study and assessment of how the brain functions and how different conditions or injuries alters it.
What Is Involved With A Neuropsychological Evaluation?
While it is a type of test, it isn’t something you can fail. There are no right or wrong answers. Instead, neuropsychological evaluations assess key areas of the brain to determine the overall health of it.
Memory Test
This part of an evaluation involves repeating a list of words or other recall back to the doctor.
Cognition
This tests the brain’s ability to process knowledge. This portion may involve explaining the connection between two items and how they relate to one another. An example of this would be saying the relationship between peanut butter and jelly is that they taste good together. Super simple!
Verbal
This part of an evaluation could involve naming what an object is from a photograph. Or listing out words that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet.
Motor Function
This is a hands on type of task where your fine motor function skills, like drawing shapes, will be tested.
What Are The Goals Of Neuropsych Evaluations?
The goal of an evaluation is not to provide a diagnosis. Instead, it is to test why there has been a change in behaviors for adults and children. This can help determine whether these changes are associated with disorders such as anxiety or depression. In some cases, it could pinpoint the changes to something more severe – such as a stroke, although that would involve a lot more than an evaluation.
What Happens Afterwards?
After the evaluation is over, you are probably wondering what is next. The answer to this is a little open ended, because it just depends on the individual person and what the results are.
Below are some examples of what the test results can be used for.
Development of a Treatment Plan
Figuring out how your brain functions can help you strengthen your mental health as well as the individual areas such as memory.
By knowing this information, it gives you a chance to improve your work, school, or personal life.
Provides a Foundation
Assessments are often ordered before a major surgery, especially one that can impact the brain. This helps provide a baseline to determine how the event impacted the brain afterwards.
Rediscover Strengths and Weaknesses
No matter what your results are, they can tremendously help you. If they come up with areas that need improved, this doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you or that you are broken.
Neurospych evaluations can feel like a lot of information at once. However, they can definitely be useful to determine how to move forward.
Whether you are feeling stuck because of a mental health condition or after a major surgery, they can give you great knowledge about yourself.
If you want to learn more about neuropsych evaluations or how we can help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.