Have you ever wondered why your memory doesn’t work like it used to, or why you have greater difficulty concentrating and paying attention? Have you or your friends and family noticed that you have difficulty organizing your thoughts, or finding the right words to express yourself to others? Do you struggle to maintain a stable mood?
A Neuropsychological Evaluation (NPE) can help answer these questions and provide you with a detailed assessment of the inner workings of your brain – including strengths and weaknesses, which in turn will assist in developing a more effective treatment plan for your specific problems.
And the best part? Avalon is now proud to offer this comprehensive evaluation to each one of our mental health clients – making us one of a very select few treatment facilities in the country to provide such a service as a part of their intake process.
What is Neuropsychological Testing?
Neuropsychological Testing (NT) is an important part of a comprehensive Neuropsychological Evaluation. It involves administering a battery of non-invasive neurocognitive tests that help measure specific areas of cognitive processing in the brain. These tests can tell you how your brain is performing, and if there are any areas of brain functions that are problematic, and may be contributing to your mental health difficulties.
NT is also used prognostically. It can assist in determining what effects certain negative habits or behaviors have had on your brain function, or may have in the future. For example, if you are coming in for treatment, and heavy drinking or drug abuse is part of your past, NT can assist in determining if you’ve developed any neurocognitive impairments from your addiction, and what could happen if you resume drinking or drugging, rather than maintaining abstinence.
What Happens During a Neuropsychological Evaluation?
NPE is a comprehensive evaluation that can take 4 to 5 hours to complete. These evaluations are performed in-house by a highly qualified Neuropsychologist who received his training at UCLA Medical Center, and was on the Clinical Faculty in the UCLA School of Medicine – teaching and supervising Neuropsychology Interns and Fellows.
The testing requires that you use different parts of your brain to perform a variety of problem solving tasks in order to measure different neurocognitive skills such as:
- Attention and Concentration
- Visual Spatial Abilities
- Multi-Tasking Skills
- Impulse Control
- Emotional Control
- Memory
- Language Skills
- Processing Speed
- Gross and Fine Motor Skills
- Abstract Reasoning Abilities
NPE is administered for a variety of psychiatric and medical reasons, which can include:
- Drug and/or Alcohol Abuse
- Epilepsy
- Neurologic disorders
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression and/or Anxiety
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Head Injury
- Infectious Disease
- Learning Difficulties
- Memory Loss
- Psychotic Disorders
- Psychiatric Diagnostic Clarification
NPE also provides your doctor with baseline measures that can be compared to re-testing data done later, which will allow you to determine whether or not you have made progress in your treatment, and if additional adjustments to your treatment plan are required.
How Much Does a Neuropsychological Evaluation Cost?
Due to the comprehensive nature of an NPE, it is quite costly—$3,000 to be exact. The good news is, that cost is covered for clients who stay in the Avalon Grand House, because we believe that measuring your neuropsychological functioning is an essential step in diagnostic clarification, and determining the most effective treatment plan for you. As always, your success is our top priority.
We are very excited to offer this innovative evaluation and believe that it will make a significant impact on the effectiveness of treatment and the well-being of our clients.
To learn more about how a Neuropsychological Evaluation can help you or your loved one, contact Avalon Malibu today at 888-958-7511.
