Services Provided
Individualized Neuropsychological Assessment, Clinical Care, and Consultation
Summit Neuropsychology provides comprehensive neuropsychological services including assessment, clinical consultation, cognitive remediation/rehabilitation, and supportive psychotherapy. Summit Neuropsychology is a small private practice located in Park City, Utah that is owned and operated Dr. Andrew Nichols, a clinical neuropsychologist licensed in both Utah and New York.
Dr. Nichols assists individuals who are experiencing a wide variety of neurological impairments to reach their highest potential by simultaneously addressing cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges. By grounding every case with a complete neuropsychological assessment, treatment recommendations and proactive strategies can be developed which help individuals regain meaning and productivity in their lives after an accident, illness, or period of academic/behavioral frustration.
At Summit Neuropsychology all clients receive comprehensive assessments which are tailored to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. While recognizing specific areas of decline or impairment is an essential aspect of any neuropsychological evaluation, it is equally vital to listen to the client and understand how their symptoms are influencing their quality of life, goals, and aspirations. Once an assessment is completed, detailed feedback is provided along with real-world recommendations and suggestions for remediation/rehabilitation treatments and/or referrals as necessary. Examples of specific evaluations provided by Summit Neuropsychology include:
- Comprehensive Neuropsychological Evaluation
- Psychoeducational & Behavioral Evaluation
- Return to Work Evaluations
- Independent Educational Evaluations and Second Opinions
- Evaluations for Accommodations in High Stakes Testing (e.g. SAT, GRE)
- Forensic Neuropsychological Evaluations
- Independent Medical Examinations (IMEs)
- Gifted and Talented Evaluations
- FAA Airman Neuropsychological Examinations, including administration of CogScreen-AE
Dr. Nichols has extensive experience integrating neuropsychological assessment results into applied, client-focused recommendations. In most instances, there is no ‘cookie-cutter’ set of recommendations that will meet a client’s quality of life or academic goals. Instead, a combination of several aspects of therapeutic care is often indicated, balancing each client’s unique cognitive, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Dr. Nichols has particular expertise in assessing: Learning Disabilities in children and adolescents; Mood, Conduct, And Attention-Deficit disorders with adolescents; High-Functioning Autism Spectrum disorders; Depression & Anxiety due to changes in brain function (e.g. after TBI or stroke); problems with Attention, Memory, and Organization after accidents and illness; and providing Supportive Psychotherapy for family members of persons who have experienced various neuropsychological changes. Rehabilitation/Remediation and Therapeutic Services offered by Summit Neuropsychology include:
Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy
Cognitive Rehabilitation includes a wide variety of individualized skill training and reasoning strategies to help persons who have experienced some sort of cognitive impairment regain normal function and/or develop compensatory approaches that enhance quality of life. Examples might include designing a cueing system for critical daily events when a person has developed problems with short-term memory; restructuring one’s daily calendar to reduce fatigue and emotional distress; and developing complex problem-solving skills for return to work. Cognitive Rehabilitation strategies are highly individualized and intricately tied into the client’s assessment results and treatment recommendations.
Cognitive Remediation Therapy
Cognitive Remediation is designed to address a client’s neurocognitive abilities in a wide range of domains including: attention (e.g. sustained, divided, selective), cognitive flexibility, planning and task completion, executive function, and working memory. Cognitive Remediation is often administered through the use of a computer or tablet via specialized software. In many instances, clients can independently complete exercises throughout the week while being monitored by Dr. Nichols. In this manner, Dr. Nichols can then provide support, feedback, or make adjustments to exercise focus, intensity, or duration.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy varies depending on the particular problems a client is experiencing. Personal challenges related to cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical symptoms are often identified during a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. When psychotherapy is initiated, these issues are tied into a working treatment plan that is designed in a collaborative partnership between Dr. Nichols and the client. In addition, family members and close friends are often impacted by changes in a loved one’s neuropsychological function. Thus, they too often benefit from psychotherapy services.
