Conducting A Culturally Informed Neuropsychological Evaluation

While experienced neuropsychologists may be well-versed in the standard process of conducting a neuropsychological evaluation, they may still have difficulty determining a client's current functioning, given his or her unique cultural context. This is especially true when the client and the clinician do not share the same ethnic background and language fluency. In such cases, the clinician risks administering a biased assessment with invalid tests, misinterpreted data, and inappropriate - if not harmful - treatment recommendations. Daryl Fujii helps neuropsychologists enhance their cultural competence by providing readers with a broad framework for cultivating an ethnorelative - instead of an ethnocentric - view of clients. He begins by reviewing relevant research and professional guidelines that explain how cultural factors can impact a neuropsychological evaluation. Then he outlines preliminary strategies for establishing rapport and improving communication with clients, estimating their premorbid functioning, gathering pertinent data, selecting and translating appropriate tests, and working with interpreters. The closing chapters present a detailed case example that demonstrates a pre-assessment interview, test interpretation, report writing, treatment recommendations, and a final feedback session with the client.

Cultural Diversity in Neuropsychological Assessment provides a platform for clinical neuropsychologists, psychologists, and trainees to bridge cultures and speak to each other about the ethnically diverse communities they serve throughout the world. It allows readers to peek into their clinical filing cabinets and examine how they worked with diverse individuals from indigenous and migrant communities of Arab, Asian, European, Israeli, Latin American and Caribbean, Persian, Russian, Sub-Saharan African, and North American origin. The book first reviews important foundations for working with diverse communities that include key knowledge, awareness, skills, and action orientation. It then provides a collection of cases for each cultural geographic region. Each section begins with an introductory chapter to provide a bird’s eye view of the historical and current state of clinical and research practice of neuropsychology in that region. Then, each chapter focuses on a specific community by providing surface and deep-level cultural background knowledge from the authors’ unique perspectives. A case study is then covered in depth to practically showcase an evaluation with someone from that community. This is followed by a summary of key strategic points, lessons learned, references, further readings, and a glossary of culture specific terminology used throughout the chapter. In the end, the appendix provides a list of culturally relevant tests and norms for some communities. This ground-breaking peer-reviewed handbook provides an invaluable clinical resource for neuropsychologists, psychologists, and trainees. It increases self-reflection about multicultural awareness and knowledge, highlights practical ways to increase cultural understanding in neuropsychological and psychological assessments, and sparks further discussion for professional and personal growth in this area.

This is a book for all neuropsychologists who are called upon to assess culturally different clients--with very few exceptions today, this means every neuropsychologist. In Minneapolis as in Oslo, migrant and refugee minorities raise assessment and test validity problems that cannot be ignored. To deal realistically with the problem of doing neuropsychological assessments without norms, Nell describes the principles of a "behavioral neuropsychology," and then sets out interview, test, and interpretation methods that will allow clinicians to produce valid and prognostically accurate assessments. For working neuropsychologists, this is an intensely practical, how-to-do-it book. But unlike other hands-on guides, it lays an impressive historical and theoretical foundation for the practice of cross-cultural neuropsychology. It thus speaks to serious practitioners who need to be certain that their assessment findings are not only correct, but also sufficiently well-grounded to stand up to professional scrutiny and to forensic testing in a court of law.

Despite a vibrant trajectory, the specialty of clinical neuropsychology has largely ignored the role of sociocultural variables in understanding the impact of brain dysfunction on individuals. This chapter addresses the long held bias against linguistic and cultural variables in neuropsychological assessment. The emphasis, however, is on Spanish-speaking individuals, especially those residing in the United States. This is done because of the expanding demographics of Hispanics as well as the growing neuropsychological literature on these individuals. Both clinical strategies and scientific issues are addressed. Pragmatic suggestions are provided and limitations to existing information are addressed.

Minority and cross-cultural psychology is more relevant now than ever in our diverse world. Given the dramatic local and global changes occurring daily with regard to demographics, population changes, and immigration issues, minority and cross-cultural psychology is fast becoming a respected and critical area of scientific study. Pair that with the fact that people of all cultures and racial groups are living longer and experiencing age-related diseases and disorders, one can easily see the need for additional work on issues related to neuropsychological assessment. This new edition brings to the forefront recent developments by seasoned experts in the field. They offer up their newest projects in minority and cross-cultural aspects of neuropsychological assessment and are joined by new, up-and-coming professionals across a wide array of disciplines including psychology, medicine, and neuropsychology. Like the first edition, this updated collection sheds light on the ever-growing need for adequate neuropsychological assessment to a wider subset of individuals, crossing many cultural and minority barriers in the process. Continuously pushing the boundaries of neuropsychological assessment, this collection is essential reading for cognitive and clinical psychologists, and neuropsychologists, and a model text for advanced courses dealing with minority and cross-cultural issues.

One of the challenges the field of clinical neuropsychology faces is to develop an assessment process that is relevant and responsive to the needs of patients. Indeed, it has been suggested that the survival of neuropsychology as a clinical discipline may be threatened due to an overemphasis on diagnosing cognitive deficits as opposed to developing methods that meet patients’ needs. One way to meet this need is for psychologists to extend their services by developing clinical interventions that contribute to enhancing patients’ cognitive and emotional well-being. Providing feedback from the results of neuropsychological tests is one method suggested as a way to enhance patient care and satisfaction with the assessment process while providing a link between clinical assessment and therapeutic interventions. In current practice, providing feedback to patients about the results of neuropsychological assessments has been considered an optional procedure by clinicians and thus received little attention in the literature. Yet there is evidence that when feedback is provided to patients the effects are overwhelmingly positive. Feedback provides a bridge between assessment and treatment by facilitating the development of applicable treatment plans. There is no agreed upon conceptual framework for providing feedback from neuropsychological assessment, although researchers have made recommendations. However, these recommendations have done little to affect clinical practice and training despite the fact that including patient-oriented feedback enhances the likelihood that neuropsychological assessment will remain a relevant and important component of patient care. The purpose of this proposed book is to first describe developments in methods of neuropsychological assessment feedback that involve active collaboration with patients in an open exchange of information and results. Second, we will present a comprehensive model for conducting neuropsychological assessment feedback. The authors of this book are expert clinical practitioners and academic researchers who are at the forefront of the development and implementation of Collaborative Therapeutic Neuropsychological Assessment methods. Table of contents follows.

Neuropsychological assessment is a difficult and complicated process. Often, experienced clinicians as well as trainees and students gloss over fundamental problems or fail to consider potential sources of error. Since formal test data on the surface appear unambiguous and objective, they may fall into the habit of overemphasizing tests and their scores and underemphasizing all the factors that affect the validity, reliability, and interpretability of test data. But interpretation is far from straightforward, and a pragmatic application of assessment results requires attention to a multitude of issues. This long-awaited, updated, and greatly expanded second edition of the Clinician's Guide to Neuropsychological Assessment, like the first, focuses on the clinical practice of neuropsychology. Orienting readers to the entire multitude of issues, it guides them step by step through evaluation and helps them avoid common misconceptions, mistakes, and methodological pitfalls. It is divided into three sections: fundamental elements of the assessment process; special issues, settings, and populations; and new approaches and methodologies. The authors, all of whom are actively engaged in the clinical practice of neuropsychological assessment, as well as in teaching and research, do an outstanding job of integrating the academic and the practical. The Clinician's Guide to Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition will be welcomed as a text for graduate courses but also as an invaluable hands-on handbook for interns, postdoctoral fellows, and experienced neuropsychologists alike. No other book offers its combination of breadth across batteries and approaches, depth, and practicality.

Cultural Diversity studies the relationship between culture and neuropsychology. Its goal is to examine salient aspects of this relationship and assist in bringing the issue of culture and cultural diversity to the forefront of neuropsychological discussions. The articles help further the understanding that ethnic and cultural variables are important not only in research design but also in clinical practice. In addition they urge clinicians to make cultural variables an integral component of any neuropsychological assessment and examine clinical data in the context of the patient's ethnic and cultural backround.

Clinical Cultural Neuroscience aims to provide clinicians and researchers with an overview of contemporary topics relevant to the study of culture in psychology and neuroscience. Within a translational thematic framework, this multidisciplinary volume surveys our current understanding of human behavior and culture along the spectrum of health and disease across multiple levels of analysis, from molecular genetics to sociocultural environment.

Clinical Cultural Neuroscience aims to provide clinicians and researchers with an overview of contemporary topics relevant to the study of culture in psychology and neuroscience. Within a translational thematic framework, this multidisciplinary volume surveys our current understanding of human behavior and culture along the spectrum of health and disease across multiple levels of analysis, from molecular genetics to sociocultural environment.