Services
Services are available to people ages 15+. Assessment services are offered in hybrid form (mix of remote/virtual and in-person). The interview and feedback portions of assessments can be completed virtually, but testing must be completed in-person. Intervention services (e.g., counselling) can be offered in virtual or in-person form. Counselling is available to anyone anywhere in Ontario or Alberta.
Neuropsychological Assessment
Description: Neuropsychological assessment is a method of examining a person’s brain function. It does not involve brain scans (e.g., CT or MRI), which examine the structure of the brain. Rather, a neuropsychological assessment examines the function of the brain and will involve measuring processes like motor functioning, attention, thinking speed, language, visual processing, learning, memory, self-regulation, and emotional functioning (depression, anxiety, anger, etc.). The process will involve an in-depth clinical interview, a testing session lasting several hours, and a feedback session to review the results of the assessment.
Reasons for Referral: This type of assessment is often done when family members or medical providers raise concerns about changes in a person’s abilities in any of these domains of functioning (e.g., questions of dementia), after a brain injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc.) or after other diagnosis (e.g., Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, other neurological diseases). The assessment can accomplish one or more of the following: (1) clarify a diagnosis, (2) determine what interventions will be of help to the person, (3) determine whether it is safe for a person to drive, (4) determine whether the person is cognitively able to work, and/or (5) determine everyday functional limitations.
Psychotherapy/Counselling
Description: Psychotherapy/counselling involves meeting with a therapist, usually weekly or bi-weekly, for about an hour to work together to improve mental health. It may involve a diagnostic evaluation at the beginning of the work together, followed by sessions to treat the identified problems. I use primarily Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy approaches.
Intervention is available for the following conditions:
Depression
Anxiety
Insomnia
Psychoeducational/ADHD Assessment
Description: Psychoeducational/ADHD assessment is a method of examining a person’s cognitive and academic abilities as they relate to performance in school. This will involve measuring cognitive and academic abilities, such as motor functioning, attention, thinking speed, language, reading, writing, spelling, math, visual processing, learning, memory, self-regulation, behavioural symptoms, and emotional functioning (depression, anxiety, anger, etc.). The process will involve an in-depth clinical interview, a testing session lasting several hours, and a feedback session to review the results of the assessment.
Reasons for Referral: This type of assessment is often done when a student or others around them notice that the student is having difficulty with learning. There are many possible reasons why a student may have difficulty with learning, including cognitive difficulties, learning disabilities, ADHD, emotional difficulties, etc. This type of assessment can help to clarify what is contributing to the learning difficulties and point to interventions that are most likely to be helpful.
Concussion Services
Description: Concussion is mild form of brain injury commonly sustained in sports but also seen in other contexts. Assessment will involve a clinical interview, cognitive testing, and, depending on the type of assessment, a feedback session to go over the results of the assessment.
Baseline Assessment: Baseline assessments are conducted before the start of the athletic season to determine your typical profile of cognitive functioning and symptoms. If a person were then to sustain a concussion, the baseline data provides a benchmark to which to compare the data from a post-concussion assessment (see below).
Post-Concussion Assessment: This type of assessment is conducted after a person sustains a concussion to determine whether there has been change in their cognitive functioning and symptomatology. It can be done with or without baseline data.
Prolonged Symptoms after Concussion Assessment: Most concussions recover on their own after a few weeks. Some people continue to experience symptoms for longer than that. This type of assessment can help to determine the factors that may be contributing to the experience of symptoms and make recommendations for improving the symptoms.