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Department of Psychiatry

Division of Clinical Psychology

National Jewish Medical and Research Center Adult Neuropsychological Assessment

National Jewish Medical and Research Center is a University affiliated hospital specializing in evaluation and treatment of patients with immunologic and respiratory diseases. The Adult Neuropsychology Service within the Division of Psychosocial medicine sees a wide variety of patients with chronic medical and neurological disease. The neuropsychology minor rotation training program has the following goals for psychology trainees.

Goals of the Training Rotation

To educate trainees about the cognitive and psychological functioning of patients with chronic medical or neurologic disease.
To teach trainees the administration and interpretation of a brief neuropsychological assessment battery.
To teach trainees to communicate neuropsychological test results to patients and referring physicians.

Objectives of the Training Rotation

The psychology trainee will be trained to administer and score a standardized neuropsychological assessment battery that includes measures of intellectual functioning, attention and information processing speed, executive functioning, learning and memory, language skills, visuospatial skills, and motor functioning. Brief psychological screening measures for depression and anxiety will also be administered.
The psychology trainee will learn to administer a detailed neuro-medical interview with a specific focus on prior medical and neurologic illness, head injury, medication use, academic functioning and learning difficulties, social and occupational functioning, substance abuse, and psychiatric history.
The psychology trainee will learn to document and communicate relevant behavioral observations from the neuropsychological assessment.
The psychology trainee will learn to write a concise interpretative neuropsychological report that includes background information, behavioral observations, neuropsychological and psychological test results, as well as summary and treatment recommendations.
The psychology trainee will participate in feedback sessions with individual patients regarding neuropsychological test results, including summary and recommendations.

Specific Training Activities

Required Activities

Neuropsychological assessments: Each intern will receive basic training in the administration, scoring, interpretation, and reporting of the neuropsychological assessment. Time devoted to each activity will vary as a function of the intern’s experience, but each intern will be expected to independently complete two full neuropsychological assessments (including administration scoring, interpretation, report writing, and feedback) by the end of the six-month rotation.

Supervision: Each intern will be supervised by faculty and staff in the Adult Neuropsychology Service in all aspects of their training. Weekly supervision meetings with faculty will serve as a forum to learn about general neuropsychological assessment issues, specific aspects of medical or neurologic illness relevant to patients the intern has seen, interpretation of neuropsychological test data, and communication of test results.

Feedback sessions: The intern will be supervised in the feedback of neuropsychological test results and recommendations to individual patients.

Optional Training Activities

As time permits, interns will have the opportunity to attend regularly held multi-disciplinary treatment group meetings.

Additional Courses

The Neuropsychology Seminar (12-week seminar) is offered through the UCD Psychology Internship Program.

Theoretical Approaches

The Adult Neuropsychology Service at National Jewish Medical and Research Center aims to provide assessment of brain function in a diverse patient population with medical (e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, transplant, etc.) and/or neurological (e.g., dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, etc.) disease or injury. Neuropsychological assessment batteries are tailored to the individual needs of the patient and the referral question.

Types of Clinical Approaches

Neuropsychological diagnostic service
Multi-disciplinary recommendations for rehabilitation

Population of Clients

The Adult Neuropsychology Service at National Jewish Medical and Research Center serves adults over the age of 18 with a wide variety of medical and neurologic illnesses. Referrals are typically received from pulmonary and immunologic clinics at National Jewish, neurology and neurosurgery services outside of National Jewish, as well as community neurologists, physicians, and psychiatrists.

Supervision

The intern will receive supervision for all aspects of the neuropsychological evaluation. This includes the administration and scoring of the neuropsychological battery, interpretation, and report writing. Supervision will occur on site from faculty and staff of the Adult Neuropsychology Service.

Supervisors

Brian D. Hoyt, Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology/Neuropsychology, University of Houston, 2001) Assistant Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Medical and Research Center;
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Colorado Denver. Areas of expertise include neuropsychological assessment of persons with dementia and other neurologic illness, with a focus on pre- and post-surgery assessment of neurosurgical populations (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, etc.).

Elizabeth Kozora, Ph.D., ABPP (Clinical Psychology, University of Cincinnati, 1989)
Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Medical and Research Center; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver. Areas of expertise include neuropsychological assessment in persons with respiratory and autoimmune diseases (i.e., systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sarcoidosis, interstitial lung disease, occupational toxic exposures).