Frequently Asked Questions
What age patients does Dr. Goldberg see?
Dr. Goldberg provides assessment and therapy services for children over age 4, adolescents, and adults.
When does someone need to be assessed or tested?
When a person’s emotions and behaviors cause problems in familial, social, academic, or employment functioning, a psychological or neuropsychological assessment can determine whether underlying organic impairments are present and what type of treatment plan is indicated.
Neurologists, phychiatrists, and other health care professionals refer patients for psychological and neuropsychological assessment when they want another professional opinion for differential diagnosis, to clarify a complex diagnostic case, to rule out specific psychiatric disorders, or if they suspect the presence of developmental delays, cognitive impairment, or dementia.
Individuals should request psychological or neuropsychological assessments for themselves or members of their family when someones emotional, behavioral, or cognitive problems are causing distress and dysfunction in social, academic, or employment settings. Other reasons for assessment might be to rule out developmental delays, autistic spectrum disorders, psychological disorders, poor recovery from head injury, or suspicion of dementia.
How long does testing or assessment take?
It depends on the referral question and the number of tests administered. Generally, a full battery of neuropsychological and psychological tests can take up to 10 hours, with interviews lasting up to 3 hours.
What is involved in a neuropsychological or psychological evaluation?
Because assessment is designed to determine functioning in a range of areas (i.e., thinking skills, psychological symptoms, personality structure), it is important to take a thorough medical, developmental, and academic achievement history. Prior medical or acaedemic records may be requested, and others who know the patient well may be interviewed (i.e., parents, teachers, family members).
Psychological and neuropsychological tests are primarily pencil and paper tests. For example, the testing administrator may ask the patient to answer a range of questions, solve different kinds of problems or puzzles, remember stories, count numbers, or learn word lists, and so forth. Sometimes a patient will be asked to tap their fingers, put pegs in holes, build shapes with blocks, follow hand movements, or describe what they see in pictures. No physically invasive procedures are ever involved.
Who conducts the testing?
Dr. Goldberg conducts all of the testing and assessment by herself to ensure the quality and consistency of her methods.
When will I get my results?
A verbal debriefing of the process and results will be scheduled after testing is completed. During the debriefing, Dr. Goldberg will explain the results of the testing, answer your questions, and discuss treatment and service recommendations with you. A full written report will then be completed and forwarded to you and/or the referring party or physician, based on the type of evaluation that was conducted.
Who else will receive the report?
Evaluation reports are given only to referring physicians or attorneys (as applicable). Reports are not released to other parties without proper authorization by the patient.
May I see the raw test data?
Psychological and neuropsychological test materials are copyrighted and protected by publishers to preserve the integrity of the measures. Only qualified scientists, psychologists, mental health practitioners who are trained to administer these tests are permitted access to raw data and test materials.
Why should someone begin psychotherapy?
If you're not sure whether you or someone else needs psychotherapy, the best thing to do is ask a professional. Here are just a few examples of when someone should consult a psychologist and consider starting psychotherapy:
- When behavioral, emotional, or cognitive problems are causing significant distress to either the person with the problem or those having to deal with the fallout, and these issues are disrupting normal functioning,
- When someone is having persistent, or serious relationship problems with someone important in their life (spouse, partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, parents, child, boss),
- When a person is overwhelmed, stressed, exhausted, confused, or extremely frustrated with problems they have not been able to resolve on their own,
- When someone feels very sad or hopeless, is sleeping or eating more or less than usual, has lost motivation and energy, or has no interest in normal activities,
- If a person is extremely worried or anxious, has problems managing their behavior or impulses, is hearing or seeing things other people don't hear or see, or is unable to stop taking drugs or drinking,
- When children or adolescents are having persistent problems in school, can’t make friends, or are engaging in high-risk activities,
- If someone is having difficulty functioning at work or doesn't seem to be able to keep a job,
- When an individual is having difficulty concentrating, making decisions, dealing with distractions, can't pay attention, loses things or gets lost.
How do I know if I'm receiving high quality services?
First, make sure the professional you are seeing has a valid license and is in good standing with the state licensing board and professional associations with which she/he is a member (i.e., California Board of Psychology, American Psychological Association, American Board of Professional Psychology).
When you are receiving high quality services, your psychotherapist will be sensitive to and knowledgeable about how culture, gender, ethnicity, education, genetics, life experience, psychiatric history, personality, environment, trauma history, family history, language, and medical health impacts your current level of functioning and your long-term prognosis.
You should always ask whether she/he has dealt with problems like yours in the past and what you can expect in terms of the process and pace of recovery. You should make a treatment plan together and be included in changes made to that plan as it evolves over time.
Because good psychotherapy is both art and science, and requires the full engagement of the patient/client in the process of healing, it is not possible to guarantee outcomes. Thus, even high quality services may not result in your desired outcome. However, if you are being served properly, these issues will be discussed both at the beginning of therapy and during the therapeutic process to ensure your full understanding of how psychotherapy works, and what is required of both patient and therapist in order to arrive at a beneficial result.
How long do psychotherapy sessions last?
Most therapy sessions are 50 minutes long.
What happens if I want to stop coming to therapy before treatment goals are achieved?
The patient/client’s motivation in psychotherapy is a critical element to achieving a good outcome. When patients/clients want to stop coming to therapy, it could be for a number of reasons (i.e., working on sensitive and emotional material can be overwhelming, the patient feels they’ve made enough improvement, they can’t afford to continue, etc.). Regardless of the reason, when a patient’s motivation wanes, therapy becomes less effective.
When a patient thinks they are no longer in need of therapy, the best thing to do is discuss it with your psychotherapist so that you can decide together how to terminate therapy in a healthy manner. If Dr. Goldberg believes it is not in a patient’s best interest to stop when they want to, she will advise them her concerns, the reasons for her concerns, and will recommend a path forward. However, there is no repercussion for stopping therapy prematurely, and a patient always has the option to come back when they are ready to do more work.
Does Dr. Goldberg file insurance claims for her patients?
Patients are responsible for filing their own claims to insurance companies for reimbursement of payments for services rendered by Dr. Goldberg. Patients are provided with receipts, description of services, dates of evaluations, and all the appropriate paperwork insurance companies require to file for reimbursement, including procedure codes, lists of tests administered (if applicable), and diagnosis.
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