Session 2: Applied Neuropsychology [2]

Our frontal lobes house crucial brain circuitry responsible for complex daily functioning, including abstraction, humor and creativity, mental calculations, learning, and impulse control. In life, they are the last to develop fully (wait until you’re 25 years old!) and the first to go as we age, and yet society heaps greater and greater demand on these networks in the way we approach school and careers. For this reason, emerging neuropsychologists and therapists must learn how to merge cutting edge science with effective counseling techniques in order to help people “learn” their own brain and achieve excellence in this competitive world. This course will teach neuropsychological and functional neuroanatomical concepts as they are applied in counseling and rehabilitation for young people and adults. In addition to learning about specific psychiatric and neurological diagnoses affecting cognition, the course takes a sociohistorical view of the changing nature of school and work that has resulted in increased competitiveness and demands in our lives in the areas of thinking, leisure, and relationships.

Specific topics include: *ADHD, autism, and daily functioning *Dyslexia and other learning challenges *Neural correlates of depression and anxiety *Counseling with Motivational Interviewing *Neuroplasticity and Rehabilitation *School and work in the 21st century