Clinical Psychology

The Future

BOX18-6:Clinical Psychologist Perspective:

Paula Zuffante, Ph.D.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

KEY TERMS

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

A

very important growth area in clinical psy-

chology over the past several decades has

been the field of neuropsychology. This growth

has been reflected in (a) increases in membership in

professional neuropsychological associations; (b) the

number of training programs that offer neuropsy-

chology courses; and (c) the many papers, books,

and journals now published on neuropsychological

topics. Let us begin to examine this growing area of

clinical psychology by taking a step back to get a

better sense of how this field developed as well as

the roles of neuropsychologists.

PERSPECTIVES AND HISTORY

As the term would suggest, neuropsychologists have
a foot in both the psychological and neurological
domains. Although some have received their basic
training in clinical psychology, others have been
trained by neurologists.

Definitions

What isneuropsychology? It can be defined as the study
of the relation between brain function and behavior
or as Zillmer, Spiers, and Culbertson (2008) put it,
“The study of how complex properties of the brain
allow behavior to occur”(p. 4). It deals with the
understanding, assessment, and treatment of beha-
viors directly related to the functioning of the brain
(Golden, 1984).Neuropsychological assessmentis a non-
invasive method of describing brain functioning
based on a patient’s performance on standardized
tests that have been shown to be accurate and sensi-
tive indicators of brain–behavior relationships
(Golden et al., 1992). The neuropsychologist

may address issues of cerebral [brain] lesion

lateralizations, localization, and cerebral

lesion progress. Neuropsychological eval-

uations have also provided useful infor-

mation about the impact of a patient’s

limitations on educational, social, or

vocational adjustment. Since many patients

with neurological disorders, such as

degenerative diseases, cerebrovascular

accident, or multiple sclerosis, vary widely

in the rate at which the illness progresses or

improves, the most meaningful way to

assess patients for the severity of their

condition is to assess their behavior objec-

tively via neuropsychological assessment

procedures. (Golden et al., 1992, p. 19)

Roles of Neuropsychologists

Neuropsychologists function in a number of differ-

ent roles (Golden et al., 1992; Howieson & Lezak,

2010; Zillmer et al., 2008). First, neuropsycholo-

gists are often called on by neurologists or other

physicians to help establish or rule out particular

diagnoses. For example, a patient may present

with a number of symptoms that may have either

a neurological or an emotional basis. Neuropsycho-

logical test results can help clarify the diagnosis in

this situation. Second, because of an emphasis on

functional systems of the brain (see below), neuro-

psychologists can often make predictions regarding

the prognosis for recovery. A third major role

involves intervention and rehabilitation. Informa-

tion provided by neuropsychologists often has

important implications for treatment; test results

provide guidance as to which domains of function-

ing may support rehabilitative efforts. Finally, neu-

ropsychologists may be asked to evaluate patients

with mental disorders to help predict the course

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