I attended the International Neuropsychological Society mid-year meeting in Prague, Czech Republic last July. I not only learned a lot (that will help me improve my skills in assessment), I also met nice and interesting colleagues.
Attending the conference gave me a bigger view of the field of neuropsych and neuroscience and how people from different areas of psychology are able to use them in their work (e.g. forensics, education, counseling).
In my case, I met Dr. Blanco who spoke about the Boston Approach in the analysis of a screening tool (the MoCa) which I will start applying in my work at the hospital. Listening to him and reading the books I have purchased reminded me and emphasized to me the need to analyze not only the scores my clients obtained during testing but, more importantly, how they arrived at their answers, especially their errors. How they arrived at their answers will give us a window into their minds – how they are working well and how they are not.
This then helps us to understand what is going on, answer the referral question and, more importantly, come up with appropriate and timely recommendations for intervention needed to help our clients function well at school/work/home. That is, after all, the purpose of testing.
