our services

Clinic

Community

Telehealth

We can see you at our rooms, in your home, residential aged-care facility, or another location that is convenient for you. Telehealth is also available if a face-to-face appointment isn't for you.

Diagnostic Assessment

We can help determine the underlying cause of cognitive, emotional and behavioural changes.

Accurate and timely diagnosis is important to access the best treatment and support. Conditions we often diagnose include:

Dementia
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
Brain injury including stroke
Development disorders e.g. intellectual disability (ID), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Psychiatric conditions e.g. depression, anxiety
Substance-related cognitive impairment e.g. alcohol-related brain injury (ARBI)

Rehabilitation

By exploring strengths and weaknesses, a neuropsychology assessment can determine how illness or injury has impacted the brain’s functioning. This allows treatment, rehabilitation and services to be tailored to individual needs. We can help individuals adapt to and compensate for changes to maximise independence and support people to return to their usual life activities (e.g. work, study, and day to day activities).

Access to Supports & Services

Neuropsychological assessment can determine if a person is eligible for certain supports and services e.g. the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), a Home Care Package or a Centrelink Disability Support Pension (DSP). Where appropriate, we will prepare all documentation required to support applications and advocate for access.

NDIS Support Planning

The NDIS can fund a neuropsychology assessment for ‘Capacity Building’.

A neuropsychology assessment conducted within a NDIS plan can be useful for:

Providing recommendations for how NDIS funds can be used most effectively
Recommendations for how other service providers can best support the individual e.g.
- To manage challenging behaviours
- To improve communication
- To understand how the individual learns best
- To establish and achieve goals
- To optimise functioning and independence

Decision Making Capacity

Neuropsychology assessment is often required to determine if a person has decision-making capacity i.e. do they have a cognitive disability that could impact on their capacity to make decisions for themselves? This could include decisions about:

Medical treatment
Personal matters (e.g. where the person will live)
Financial matters
Making or amending a will
Appointing or revoking powers of attorney

If indicated, reports are prepared to support an application to VCAT (the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal).

Neuropsychology Supervision

We provide clinical supervision for registered clinical neuropsychologists, as well as clinical neuropsychology registrars working towards endorsement.

what does a neuropsychology assessment involve?

Northside Neuropsychology is committed to providing a highly personalised service. As such, the assessment process can vary depending on individual needs.

Appointment times vary from one to four hours. The assessment may be completed in a single session or split over two or three separate appointments.

In general, a neuropsychological assessment can involve the following:

1) Initial Consultation

A brief phone call with the client and/or referrer to determine if our service is suitable.

2) Clinical Interview

A detailed conversation with the client to understand their concerns, explore their goals and learn about their personal history. With the client’s consent, this may also involve discussion with the referrer, family members or care providers as needed. At times, we may also seek additional written information e.g. relevant medical documentation.

Following the interview, it is sometimes determined that further neuropsychological assessment will not be necessary or helpful. If this is the case, a brief letter with recommendations will be provided to the client and referrer.

If further assessment is recommended, we will discuss what type of assessment is recommended, possible outcomes, how long it could take and how much it is likely to cost.

3) Neuropsychological Assessment

Neuropsychological assessments involve a range of different tasks designed to assess different aspects of cognition/thinking skills. This can include general intellectual functioning (e.g. IQ), attention/concentration, processing speed, learning and memory, language skills, problem solving, reasoning and decision making.

Test results are interpreted in the context of each person’s age, education, cultural and language background, as well as their personal and medical history.

4) Feedback & Documentation

After the results have been analysed, the neuropsychologist will make time to discuss the results with the client and/or referrer. A written summary of the results and recommendations will also be provided.

Additional documentation will be provided depending on individual needs. This could include a detailed report for other medical professionals, a report to be used in legal proceedings, a letter to support an NDIS or DSP application and/or a behaviour support plan.

If appropriate, we will make referrals to other relevant services.