Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists

Neuropsychologists have deep knowledge of the brain, the anatomy of the central nervous system, and neurological diseases. Clinical neuropsychology is a specialty field of clinical psychology that assesses patients with brain injuries or diseases that have affected their cognitive abilities and behavior, and makes recommendations for therapy. They may suggest behavior management, cognitive rehabilitation, psychotherapy, or strategies for coping.

Neuropsychologists may evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with injuries such as brain damage from an accident. Other injuries and diseases that may require the expertise of neuropsychologists include Alzheimer's or other types of dementia, Parkinson's, epilepsy, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, stroke, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or brain damage due to exposure to toxic substances or chemicals.

Neuropsychologists may specialize in treating only adults or they may specialize as pediatric neuropsychologists. They may be staff members at a treatment center for children at a large general hospital or a child guidance clinic. Other clinical neuropsychologists may work in private practice, seeing clients at offices.

Neuropsychologists meet with patients and interview them for initial assessments. They gather patients' medical histories, and conduct neuropsychological evaluations to determine such things as patients' level of attention, concentration, language skills, intelligence, academic ability, sensorimotor function, and their memory. Neuropsychologists keep records and take notes throughout their interviews with patients. They research and write reports, gathering data from patient interviews, neuropsychological or psychological tests, rating scales, direct observations, and other sources. They also educate and counsel patients and their families about coping with different disorders.

Strong knowledge of human behavior and performance, therapy and counseling principles, as well as technology are essential in the neuropsychology profession. Daily work involves using various software programs for research, data capture, and creating reports. The types of software programs most neuropsychologists and clinical neuropsychologists must be well versed in include analytical, scientific, medical, e-mail, and database software.