Services Provided


About Clinical Psychology

What is Clinical Psychology?

Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development.  Central to the practice of clinical psychology are psychological assessment, clinical formulation, and psychotherapy.

What is a Therapist?

As therapists, much of our practice is spent working in therapy with individuals struggling with stress, relationship distress, mood disorders (such as anxiety and depression), as well as a wide range of other psychological conditions, such as Bipolar Disorder, OCD and Schizophrenia.  As with any therapeutic experience, we strive to provide a safe environment in which you will feel supported as we work on reducing emotional distress.  We also offer therapeutic strategies from a Cognitive-Behavioral and Interpersonal perspective that are empirically validated and shown to assist in the management of mood and stress, reducing negative self-talk, and improving coping and resiliency.  Our therapeutic approach includes identifying goals and working with individuals towards empowerment,  improved communication, and identification of strengths in order to improve quality of life.

Some individuals will find us by researching therapists on their own and some individuals will be referred to us by a psychiatrist or family doctor.  For some individuals, their work may begin with a psychological or neuropsychological assessment and transition into a therapeutic relationship.  For example, an individual may worry that she is beginning to develop Alzheimer’s because she is having memory changes and it runs in her family.  However, testing may show that anxiety is the cause of her cognitive changes.  Therapy would be recommended to explore anxiety in her life and begin to discuss how stress and anxiety impact our brain and body and work towards improving stress management and implementing effective coping strategies.


About Neuropsychology

What is Clinical Neuropsychology?

Clinical neuropsychology is a specialty field within clinical psychology with focus on brain and behavior relationships.  Neuropsychologists use standardized tests and clinical knowledge to evaluate an individual's higher order cognitive functions (i.e., intelligence, attention, concentration, learning/memory, etc.), behavior, and psychological state, in order to diagnose brain disorders or disease.

What is a Clinical Neuropsychologist?

A clinical neuropsychologist is an licensed, independent, doctoral level healthcare provider who provides assessment and intervention services to individuals, based upon the science of clinical neuropsychology. Training in clinical neuropsychology comprises of education and clinical training in clinical psychology and also specialized training in neuropsychology.  Beyond the general coursework in clinical psychology, neuropsychologists have additional education in the basic neurosciences, functional neuroanatomy, neuropathology, clinical neurology, general psychological assessment, neuropsychological assessment, and cognitive rehabilitation.

What is a Neuropsychological Evaluation?

Generally, a neuropsychological evaluation is a comprehensive assessment of an individual's cognitive abilities and weaknesses, as well as emotional functioning.  The neuropsychologist will administer a  battery of standardized tests and questionnaires to assess the individual's current cognitive abilities and psychological state.  The cognitive domains typically assessed during a neuropsychological evaluation include: intelligence, academic skills, problem solving, organization and planning, attention, concentration, language, visual perception, visual spatial abilities, sensory-motor functions, personality, and social-emotional functioning.

The neuropsychological assessment process requires three separate appointments.

  • T he assessment begins with an initial intake appointment with Dr. Perkins.  Due to COVID, this initial appointment is generally being conducted via telehealth (phone or video) and can last 1 to 2-hours.  This time provides Dr. Perkins the opportunity to get to know you and your history, as well as answer questions about the testing process, and address any concerns or hesitancies that you may have about testing.  This time is also designed for you and your family to discuss concerns about changes in thinking (such as memory) and communicate goals or expectations for the testing to ensure that everything is  adequately addressed in the assessment process.


  • The second appointment is the evaluation or testing session.  The testing is being conducted in-person at the clinic.  Dr. Perkins or one of our trained psychometrists (Nick or Bethany) will administer a variety of tests that are designed to measure the areas that your doctor, you, and/or your family may be worried about.  There are no invasive procedures (i.e., no needles, no electrodes) required during a evaluation.  However, it will often take several hours to complete and some of the tests are difficult and can be frustrated at times.

 

  • Following the face-to-face testing, many more hours of indirect time are required for scoring tests, reviewing medical records, and completing a clinical report of the findings.  Once review of the test data and interpretation is completed, Dr. Perkins will meet with you and your family to discuss the results of the testing and recommendations based on the test results.  Again, due to COVID19, the feedback sessions are being conducted via HIPAA compliant telehealth (telephone or video).  We do have the option of group video sessions if you would like to include additional family members.  Although we attempt to provide feedback as quickly as possible, the feedback sessions are generally 2-weeks after the testing is completed.  Dr. Perkins will also provide you and your family a written summary of the results and recommendations for your review and a formal report will be provided to your doctor's.

Neuropsychological evaluations are often useful in the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD and adult Autism, as well as evaluating and monitoring cognitive and psychological changes after a concussion or TBI, monitoring recovery after stroke or other neurological event, and in the diagnosis and progression of dementia.

Neuropsychological evaluations can also be useful for individuals who are struggling to find effective treatment for ongoing psychological/psychiatric distress.  These assessments can help you, your psychiatrist or healthcare provider, an your therapist/psychologist clarify cognitive and psychological strengths and weakness, identify underlying personality traits, and clarify diagnoses that may be impacting the success of your treatment, with hopes of offering additional treatment recommendations to improve quality of life.