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OkOur Psychology Department provides services to both children and adults.
Child services include psychometric assessment of learning difficulties and developmental delay, including ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning problems at school and emotional and behavioural difficulties. Liaison with schools occurs as necessary. Therapeutic services for children include working with parents using structured behaviour modification techniques and working directly with the children using play therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Applied Behaviour Analysis and TEACCH programmes. Social skills groups are also available.
Adult services cover a wide range of interventions from counselling for personal and emotional problems to psychotherapy with severe and complex mental health problems, including borderline personality disorder, bi-polar disorder and obsessional compulsive disorder.
The clinical psychologists working in the service draw from a range of models, but predominantly work from a CBT perspective. They work with clients suffering from depression, anxiety, obsessional compulsive disorders, the impact of trauma, eating disorders, addiction, borderline personality disorder and many other problems. They also provide psychometric assessment services to patients following traumatic brain injury, strokes and other neurological problems as well as carrying out dementia assessments.
Counselling psychologists and counsellors draw from solution focused and attachment models as well as using some CBT techniques. They provide assistance with stress related problems, depression, anxiety, trauma, weight management issues, work related difficulties, grief and bereavement, relationship problems and a range of other difficulties.
Members from the psychology department work as part of the Eating Disorder and Addiction teams at ACPN. Specialized interventions are also available to couples seeking counselling for marital problems or psychosexual issues.
Crisis management and de-briefing services are available on request to organizations.
Psychometric Assessment for Adults.
Psychometric tests are reliable and valid assessment tools which can measure a wide range of cognitive, mood and personality functioning. They can be used in a variety of ways. Some of these are;
- To measure progress in therapy.
- To assess the severity of the problems/symptoms you want to work on.
- To assess what may be the underlying factors which are influencing the problems you present with.
Psychometric assessments done for any of these reasons tend to be relatively brief (although measures of personality are likely to be lengthier) and are carried out to inform your treatment. As such they are considered a part of your treatment and incur no extra costs. No written report on the assessment will be provided. Your psychologist will discuss the results of any assessments you are asked to do and will explain why they are a necessary part of your treatment.
Other reasons for a psychometric assessment include;
- To assess the impact of head injury or neurological conditions on intellectual functioning.
- To examine whether there is any loss in intellectual functioning when a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementias are being considered.
- To evaluate cognitive competence in relation to occupational demands (aviation assessments)
- To provide information on how intellectual functioning has been effected by disorders such as ADHD that may be required as part of the academic admissions process. (over 18 yr olds.)
The assessment of the above can be lengthy, requiring attendance over a minimum of two sessions over 2-3 hours. For patients who are unable to tolerate lengthy testing sessions because of their condition arrangements can be made for shorter sessions over more occasions. Testing is carried out on an individual basis and the tests used are individually chosen to measure areas of concern, following the taking of a careful history. The tests which measure verbal abilities use English, but assessment of non-verbal skills is not dependent on English language skills. Interpretation of scores will take into account when the test taker is performing in their second language. The tests used have not yet been translated into Arabic by the companies who produce them, a concern that local psychologists would like to address.
After the assessment has taken place test performance will be scored and interpreted by the clinical psychologist who administered them. They will produce a report for the patient to keep and provide feedback in a final session where there is time to discuss any concerns or answer questions arising from the report.
Because of the individual nature of these assessments they range in price. An average cost, based on approximately 5 hours of individual contact with the clinical psychologist and the production of a comprehensive report is 5000 aed.
Tests used will typically include the Test of Pre-morbid Functioning, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale 4, the Wechsler Memory Scale 4 and tests taken from the Delis Kaplan Executive Functioning Scale and a measure of mood, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), the Ravens Matrices (a non-verbal measure of intelligence), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (a personality measure) and the Test of Variable Attention (which measures attention deficits such as those found in ADHD) as well as other assessments are also able to be incorporated into the assessment process where necessary.
If you have any queries about psychometric assessments for adults or would like to discuss whether an assessment would be helpful please contact us.
ACPN offers confidential, evidence-based counseling services for children, adolescents, and adults. Therapy is available for individuals, couples, and families. Therapy is provided for mood disorders, low self esteem, bereavement, marital problems, divorce, behavioral problems in children, and challenges of caregiving/parenting. Coming soon: Group Therapy!
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- ACT! therapy
- Mindfulness
- Guided relaxation
- Eating disorders treatment
- Family counseling
- Social skills training (i.e., for Autism Spectrum Disorder, social difficulties)
- Parenting skills training
- Parent - child relational therapy
Behavioral modification for
- Toileting/ Bedwetting problems
- Feeding difficulties
- Adherence and coping with pediatric medical regimens
ACPN offers a wide range of psychometric and psychological assessment services, including one of the first neuropsychology clinics in the UAE. Our assessment services include:
- Neuropsychological Assessment for patients age 16 and above with a history of head injury, ADHD, learning disorders, dementia, or medical conditions affecting mood or thinking abilities (i.e., attention, memory, speech/language, vision, hand-eye coordination, motor skills, problem solving, judgment, complex thought processes and thinking speed) .
- Child Assessment for patients below age 16 who have problems at home or at school affecting their behavior, development, learning, social skills, and achievement. Child assessment provides diagnoses and treatment to help your child reach their potential!
- Psychometric testing examines a wide range of needs for children and adults who require an in depth look at the relationship between their mood, personality, and other factors affecting their daily functioning.