What we do
As Chartered Clinical Neuropsychologists, we have a number of therapeutic approaches that we can draw on to inform our clinical work.
Irrespective of the approach used, at the heart of our work is our belief that each client and their family deserves the time and space to process what has happened to them and think about how to move forward with their lives and live with the changes their illness or injury has brought about.
What we offer
Assessment
We complete thorough initial assessments in order to ascertain what is needed for each client. This includes gathering information about a person’s cognition, emotion and behaviour to help understand how a person’s neurological condition impacts upon them and the people around them. In our experience, this assessment process can be hugely therapeutic as people describe how beneficial it is to feel heard and understood. Once we have met with a client, we are able to offer the approach that is best tailored to meet their needs.
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Sometimes our assessment process involves formal cognitive assessments to explore skills such as memory, attention, decision making, planning and problem solving. When completing these cognitive assessments, we take the time to understand how an assessment might be useful for a person and what they need from it before selecting the tests we will use. By completing assessments that are carefully selected for the individual and their needs, we can ensure that we maximise the utility of the assessment whilst minimising the need for the client to complete unnecessary tests.
We also provide Mental Capacity Act assessments to better understand a person’s decision-making capacity with regards to a range of decisions. We understand the potential impact of these assessments and aim to support people through this process.
Once the assessment is complete we will meet with you to discuss our recommendations and provide a written report.
Rehabilitation
We provide neuropsychological rehabilitation, including cognitive rehabilitation, for difficulties identified during assessment. Often this rehabilitation happens directly with the person but it may also involve sessions with family members or carers. Through our established professional network, we can also recommend and facilitate referrals to other members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Therefore, we are able to provide a holistic MDT approach towards shared rehabilitation goals. Please talk to us if this is something you would like to explore.
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Our approach to cognitive rehabilitation involves thinking about what a client’s life is like, how they managed before their injury/illness and how the difficulties identified during the assessment impact on all aspects of their life. As such, strategies we recommend are based on these factors and how likely the client is to engage with the strategy. Part of the process of embedding strategies is about working to overcome potential barriers to utilising them effectively.
Rehabilitation may also include individualised interventions for challenging behaviour and training to support teams where this is identified as an issue.
Our clients may also be accessing support from other healthcare professionals and we provide advice, training, consultation and supervision to other members of the multidisciplinary team.
Throughout the process of rehabilitation we regularly set and review goals in order to monitor progress
We also prepare neuropsychological reports for rehabilitation purposes and to guide interventions from other professionals.
Psychological therapy
We provide evidence-based psychological therapy for emotional difficulties such as anxiety, low mood and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) relating to the neurological condition. We appreciate how different life can be after a brain injury or illness and many people describe struggling to come to terms with changes to their sense of identity. This is a common thing for people to find difficult and we work to support people through that adjustment process based on the things that matter to them.
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Psychological therapy involves meeting with the client, identifying the things they are finding difficult and building a therapeutic relationship to be able to explore these areas in detail. This process helps create change.
Our approach
Our work is underpinned by our core values to be compassionate, non-judgemental, respectful, honest and transparent.
Our experiences of working with people with neurological illness and injury has taught us the importance of understanding where they are on their journey in terms of coping with the changes caused by their neurological condition. This helps us know how and when a person can best engage with rehabilitation and therapy.
We support people to move their lives in the direction that they want them to go. We offer a compassionate, truly individualised service, which respects the experiences and beliefs of each individual whilst supporting them to develop new ways of understanding and accepting their experiences. This can lead to some insights about the changes a person has experienced but it is often the start of an opportunity for people to improve their quality of life.
We recognise that seeking help following neurological illness or injury can feel daunting and we work hard to be approachable and responsive to clients, family members, case managers and other professionals.
What our clients say
“Thank you for your guidance and support over the past months. I can't emphasise enough how critical the neuropsychological aspect has been for my rehabilitation.”
CLIENT
Where you can find us
We offer in-person clinic sessions, home visits and online sessions. We are also able to visit clients at other locations that are relevant to their rehabilitation. Our clinics are based in Hampshire and Dorset. We are also able to see clients who live in surrounding counties including Wiltshire and East Devon.