There comes a time in many individuals lives where they, or their loved ones, start to notice that their brains just aren't functioning the way they are used to. It may be as simple as forgetting conversations, misplacing keys more often, or getting lost more easily. Often, these changes happen so slowly and subtlety it is difficult to determine what exactly is going wrong. Mission Psychology offers neuropsychological testing to help address these concerns.
"If an MRI is like looking under the hood at the engine, then neuropsychological testing is like taking the car for a test drive."
Neuropsychological testing is the process of testing the many different areas of brain functioning.
These areas include processing speed, memory, intellect, attention, executive functioning and more. Testing these domains helps you and your doctor determine what is going amiss in your brain. This can serve many purposes such as:
To aid diagnosis: Often we are referred patients by their physicians to help determine whether memory or other cognitive functions are performing below what should be expected. Testing can aid in the diagnosis of disorders such as Alzheimer's dementia or stroke.
To help treatment plan: Testing reveals an individual's strengths and weaknesses, which allows us to make treatment recommendations to capitalize on strengths and compensate for weaknesses.
Establish a baseline level of functioning: Baseline levels of functioning are important for determining whether an intervention is working, track progression through a disease, or track recovery after an event such as a traumatic brain injury or stroke.
If you are referred to Mission Psychology by your physician for a neuropsychological evaluation, you can expect a three step process:
You will meet with your clinician for an intensive, in-depth, structured interview about your symptoms, personal history, and medical history.
You will meet with our testing technicians to complete a variety of tests and measures. This portion often takes a few hours, but varies from individual to individual.
You will meet with your clinician again to go over the results of your evaluation and treatment recommendations.. Your clinician will send a report of their findings to your referring physician to aid in your care.
If you have any questions about neuropsychological testing please feel free to contact our office at 210-699-8700 or by email at office@sa-mh.com. To inquire about neuropsychological testing for yourself you can fill out our self-referral form here. Mission Psychology has offices in San Antonio, TX and Victoria, TX.