Dr Anette Renneflott
clinical psychology and neuroscience

Neuropsychology, as a branch of clinical psychology, researches, diagnoses, treats or influences outcomes for brain function and neural disorders. This is in relation to a larger context including focus around injury or illness effecting a person’s cognitive function and behaviour.

While neurology focuses on the pathology of the nervous system, neuropsychology looks to a correlation of the brain and mind, assisted by study of neurological patients in order to provide benefit to clients. This field shares a number of neuropsychiatry and behavioural neurology concepts. This field of work has a strong research background.

FND is a condition where patients or clients experience neurological symptoms – weakness, movement disorder, sensory symptoms and blackouts. Various paradigms demonstrate distinctive brain activation patterns associated with functional deficits. Research has uncovered pathways in the brain’s white matter that may be altered in patients with FND or its subsets. Advances in current understandings of the mechanisms involved may offer possibilities for prognosis.

Functional neurological disorders are common in neurological services and are associated with as much physical disability and distress as other neurological disorders. FND implies a level of certainty about causation even if clinically unconfirmed, based on positive signs and symptoms.

Physiotherapy can be helpful for those with motor symptoms. Tailored cognitive behavioural therapy may help those with dissociative (non-epileptic) attacks.

Developmental and neurodevelopment disorders are a group of psychiatric conditions that generally originate in early life. Most improve as a child grows older. Some impairments continue throughout life. There may be a strong genetic component and varying aspects of stability.

The term is used in several ways – for instance, language or learning and attention disorders, schizophrenia, eating, repetitive patterns, motor symptoms and autism disorders.

Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge that aims to balance a number of such approaches to understand, prevent, or relieve psychologically-based stress, dysfunction and associated pain from various conditions. Central to this is assessment and therapy.

Pain psychology is the study of psychological and behavioural processes in chronic pain. This may involve implementation of therapeutic treatment – for example, listening, empathy and behavioural techniques, treating the person in pain rather than just pain itself. There may be relationship to medical psychology.

Clinical practice and scientific methodology are important to psychological testing, as well as current research and findings across various industry bodies including government. This may involve designed interviews and types of questionnaires such as pain verses function, that give metrics such as scales. Validity and reliability involve suitability of sets of nominated comprehensive tests from multiple sources, and the client input.

Tests are designed to assist in outcomes, including services such as school environment, court hearings, or a range of other needs.

There are a significant number of tests used in practices that are designed and intended for testing specific conditions, or aspects of a condition. It is therefore important for tests to be used with skill and appropriately given presenting situations.

There are many types of complex disorders, some commonly discussed that you may know of. For instance, narcissistic personality, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, depression, trauma, dissociation and so on. There are a large range of complex psychological conditions that cover all levels of psychology concerns and complaints.