Thankyou!!!

We are very excited by the diversity and number of submissions received for the conference! There are a large number of research papers and poster submissions, and also a pleasing number of workshops, symposia, lectures, and how to sessions, covering both practical and knowledge-based areas of neuropsychology. It was amusing that one of the last submissions we received last night was for a presentation on the neuropsychology of procrastination...

Due to a number of requests for extensions, the submissions portal will remain open until 5pm tomorrow, Australian Eastern Standard Time. So if you would like to submit something for our conference, it's not too late.

We are in the process of allocating submissions to reviewers for the review process, and hope to have the program finalised and open registrations before July 12th.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed, and for your interest in this blog - we've had over 4000 views, with more than 1600 in the last month, resulting in a number of redirects from a "goneviral" website, and large numbers of views from pages around the world. If you're an international reader, we hope you might be able to join us in November.

This blog isn't over yet - look out for more information on Launceston, Tasmania, and the conference program as it develops. But for now, thanks. We have some abstracts to read....

Invited workshop: Motivational Interviewing in Neuropsychology Basic Principles and Methods

Motivational Interviewing in Neuropsychology

Basic Principles and Methods

By: Tad T. Gorske, Ph.D.

Neurological disorders constitute approximately 6% of the global burden of disease (WHO, 2006) requiring a need for rehabilitation strategies for restoration of functioning. Non-compliance with rehabilitation recommendations can compromise a successful recovery program. Non-compliance can be related to client motivational or disability factors in addition to family member’s difficulty coping and adapting to the responsibilities of a rehabilitation program (Suarez, 2011).  While the problem of poor compliance has been studied as a factor in managing patients with medical issues, physical disabilities, cognitive impairments, and other injuries; little has been written about teachable methods for enhancing motivation and increasing compliance with rehabilitation recommendations. The Health Behavioral Change (HBC) model which is based on Motivational Interviewing (MI) fills this important gap by giving healthcare professionals essential tools for discussing the importance of following rehabilitation recommendations in addition to other topics such as exercise, eating habits, medication compliance, smoking, and drinking (Rollnick, Mason, and Butler, 1999; Miller and Rollnick, 2002). The HBC model was originally designed for physicians and provides a concise framework that can be used for brief-time limited interventions. It has been used in various rehabilitation settings where a therapeutic and collaborative relationship is an essential component for enhancing patient participation and outcome attainment (Prigatano, 1999).

In this training participants will learn the background and principles of the HBC model and its application to rehabilitation.  The essential elements of the model will be reviewed in addition to the specific clinical skills necessary to conduct an HBC session.  Participants will receive practical skills to guide client(s) through the difficult task of change all the while maintaining an empathic and collaborative relationship, rolling with client resistance, and then gently guiding them through the process of collaborative goal development and attainment.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn….

1. The background and conceptual foundations of the HBC model;
2. The core interpersonal skills for conducting an HBC session;
3. To identify a client’s stage of change and intervene appropriately;
4. To assess clients level of readiness for change and enhance change talk;
5. Collaborative ways to manage client resistance;
6. To explore and enhance levels of importance and confidence for making difficult behavior changes;
7. To give feedback and advice in a way that maintains collaboration and motivates change;
8. To enhance client readiness to transition to more active and directive treatment interventions.

Collaborative Therapeutic Neuropsychological Assessment

Invited workshop:

Collaborative Therapeutic Neuropsychological Assessment - Tad Gorske

One of the challenges Clinical Neuropsychology faces is to develop an assessment process that is relevant and responsive to patient’s needs. Neuropsychology has typically followed an “Information Gathering/Medical Model” of assessment guided by the premise that tests are used to isolate a disease process and initiate treatment. More recently, neuropsychologists have taken a holistic perspective of practice.  A holistic neuropsychological perspective reflects patient-centered care models which emphasize empowering patients and families to improve their health and well being. Patient centered care views illness from a biopsychosocial perspective and emphasizes an egalitarian relationship with a strong working alliance between patient and practitioner (Mead and Bower, 2000). Collaborative Therapeutic Neuropsychological Assessment (CTNA) is a patient centered method for conducting a neuropsychological assessment feedback session that enlists patients and family members as collaborators and empowers them to take charge of their cognitive health (Gorske and Smith, 2009).  Evidence suggests neuropsychologists are frequently providing feedback and that the process is viewed as a positive experience by practitioners, patients, and family members (Bennett-Levy, et al., 1994; Donofrio, Piatt, and DiCarlo, 1999; Smith, Wiggins, and Gorske, 2007). Furthermore, patient centered interventions can potentially enhance the working alliance between practitioner and client which has been shown to enhance neuropsychological rehabilitation outcomes (Shonberger, Humle, Zeeman, and Teasdale, 2006). While authors have stated the importance and provided recommendations for providing neuropsychological test feedback, no agreed upon model exists (Gass & Brown, 1992; Malla et al., 1997).  CTNA hopes to fill this gap by providing a framework and methods for giving feedback from neuropsychological test results in a way that is understandable, patient centered, and empowers patients to take an active role in treatment. This workshop will provide the following: a) conceptual foundations of the CTNA approach; b) methods for providing neuropsychological test feedback based on CTNA principles; c) case examples of CTNA sessions; and d) suggestions for further work and research on CTNA applications.  This workshop will not discuss basic methods of neuropsychological interviewing, assessment, and interpretation as it is assumed attendees will be well versed in these procedures.

Learning Objectives:

1.    Participants will understand the value of a holistic CTNA approach for enhancing patient care.

2.    Participants will learn principles and methods of CTNA and be able to incorporate them into practice.

3.    Participants will understand the applications of CTNA in the rehabilitation of different patient populations.