Presented by:

Vina Goghari, Kristina Gicas

Sponsored by:

 3.25

Continuing Education Credits:

Notes:

Cost:

CPA Member: Early Registration ($130+tax) - Regular Registartion ($160+tax)

CPA Student Affiliate: Early Registration ($100+tax) - Regular Registartion ($125+tax)

Non-Member: Early Registration ($175+tax) - Regular Registartion ($220+tax)

Student Non Affiliate: Early Registration ($130+tax) - Regular Registartion ($150+tax)

Please note: early registration (until end-of-day April 30th, 2019) and regular registration (after April 30th, 2019)

Duration:

Half Day (13:00 – 16:30)

Target Audience:

Clinicians, researchers, graduate students, and community members.

Skill/Difficulty Level:

Introductory

Workshop Description:

Mental health professionals are increasingly encountering complex populations who require evaluation of their cognition and behaviour. Populations with complex pathology and multi-morbid conditions pose unique challenges to assessment. Unfortunately, knowledge on how to work with and assess these populations is an undertrained area for mental health professionals, but this is necessary for appropriate treatment planning. In this workshop we will bring our expertise from a variety of populations, including complex psychopathology (e.g., psychosis), multi-morbid psychopathology groups (e.g., common co-occurring mental disorders, substance use, and traumatic brain injury), complex neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease), and marginalized populations (e.g., homeless individuals). We will discuss the threats to accurate assessment in these populations including mood, motivation, premorbid functioning, physical functioning, validity of testing, standardization, and comparisons to existing norms. We will also discuss ways to mitigate these issues and describe suggested best practices in this area. This workshop will consist of didactics, audience participation, and interactive case examples. This workshop is applicable to both clinicians and researchers with interest in complex populations. The workshop will be led by two registered clinical psychologists with further expertise in neuropsychology. Dr. Goghari was the previous Chair of the Clinical Neuropsychology CPA Section and Dr. Gicas is the incoming Chair of the Clinical Neuropsychology Section.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Be able to identify key features that comprise complex populations encountered in clinical and research settings
2. Be able to identify core issues and challenges in evaluation of complex populations
3. Be able to discuss ways to adapt evaluations to mitigate challenges
4. Be able to identify suggested best practices for neuropsychological evaluation with complex populations
5. Be able to identify current knowledge gaps in this area and directions for future clinical and research practices