Services for Adults
Assessment and Treatment
Managing life’s challenges
and transitions can be difficult. At times, we may find ourselves feeling overwhelmed or
stuck. If you’re feeling dissatisfied with where you are or struggling to move forward,
our team of psychologists can help you get back on track. Our goal is to help you learn strategies
to live a more fulfilling life. We have extensive experience in assessing and treating a wide range
of problems, including:
● General life stress, anxiety, and
worries
● Adjustment to life changes
● Anxiety Disorders
o Social
Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
o
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
o Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
(OCD)
o Panic Disorder
o Specific
Phobias
o Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
● Health
Anxiety
● Depression
● Interpersonal difficulties
● Sleep problems
● Loss and grief
● Self-esteem issues
● Anger problems
● Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
● Habit problems, such as Trichotillomania
(hair-pulling), nail biting, or skin picking
● Cognitive rehabilitation following brain injury or
stroke
● Memory loss in dementia
We teach specific skills to help you manage your symptoms and cope better with life’s challenges. Our psychologists can help you develop tools to improve your mood, reduce anxiety, manage stress, enhance relationships, and function better. We utilize techniques and strategies that have been shown to be effective by both scientific research and clinical practice. The main therapies used include:
● Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – CBT is considered to be the most effective
form of treatment for many problems, and it is the primary approach used by our team at NSSAC. CBT
focuses on identifying and changing unhealthy ways of thinking and behaving.
● Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) –This approach helps people learn more effective ways
of dealing with interpersonal struggles (e.g., developing romantic relationships, building
friendships).
● Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Therapies – These approaches are used in
combination with CBT and focus on developing more helpful perspectives for living with difficult
experiences.
● Motivational Interviewing (MI) – Used in combination with traditional CBT, this
approach focuses on exploring ambivalence and strengthening one’s motivation to make important
behavioural changes.
Medical-Legal and Disability Assessment
Medical-legal assessments are special types of psychological assessments most commonly used in civil
or criminal litigation. These assessments are often requested by a lawyer, insurance company, or
other third-party (e.g., WorkSafeBC) with a number of goals in mind:
● Describe the nature and severity of a
person’s psychological injuries
● Explain the relationship between a particular
traumatic event (e.g., motor vehicle accident, workplace
accident, assault, workplace
harassment) and a person’s psychological difficulties
● Document any psychological limitations or
disability that affect a person’s work, social or recreational
functioning
● Provide an opinion regarding prognosis for a
person’s recovery from his or her psychological injuries and
factors that may influence the
recovery process
Psychoeducational Assessment
Some of our psychologists offer a specialized type of assessment known as a “psychoeducational
assessment” for adults (for more information, go to www.psychoed.ca). These assessments have a variety of different purposes. At
NSSAC, we aim to:
● Discover and describe your unique strengths and
challenges
● Identify or diagnose
o
Learning difficulties, disabilities, and disorders
o
Intellectual delays
o
ADHD
o
Giftedness
● Understand how these strengths and challenges
impact you at home, work, and school
● Make recommendations to help you be more effective
in life
Neuropsychological Assessment
A neuropsychological assessment is a type of specialized assessment that focuses on brain-behaviour
relationships. This type of assessment can be beneficial for some individuals to help clarify
diagnosis, identify strengths and weakness, support rehabilitation, or help manage cognitive
impairments. A neuropsychological assessment can be conducted for the following:
● Memory problems/mild cognitive impairment/possible
dementia
● Concussion or traumatic brain injury
● Stroke
● Neurological disorder, e.g. Parkinson's Disease,
Multiple Sclerosis, etc.
 |
The Adult Services Team |
