Clinical Values
ETHICAL
Above all else, I am an ethical clinician who prioritizes the well-being of children and families. All other values essential to providing quality care naturally stem from this value. For specific documents that guide this value within my practice, feel free to refer to the Minnesota Psychology Practice Act (link), and the American Psychological Association code of ethics (link).
COMPREHENSIVE
My clinical care considers all factors that can affect how brains develop and function, spanning from individual factors such as genetic expression and maturation, to environmental factors, such as family systems, peer groups, and schools. Practically, this frames the questions asked during the intake appointment, as well as the records requested from schools and doctors' offices. This comprehensive approach increases the accuracy of my clinical impressions when caring for your child.
THOUGHTFUL
I approach my clinical care as whats called a "scientist-practitioner," which is a fancy phrase to mean that my clinical decisions are always informed by science. This shows up in two important ways. First, I read scientific articles and attend professional trainings to stay up to date with the fast growing research relevant to child and adolescent neuropsychology. Second, I approach my clinical care with a systematic process like that used by scientific researchers. Based on the comprehensive information gathered at the intake appointment, I make a list of all possible explanations for why your child may be having a particular difficulty (e.g., social problems, poor reading, etc.). Then, I gather more information to see which of these explanation(s) best accounts for the difficulty. This thoughtful approach leads to evidence-based recommendations that are tailored to match your child's strengths and difficulties.
THERAPEUTIC
It is not enough to simply help children better understand themselves, and parents better understand their children. Within my work, I strive to be sensitive to how assessment feedback is received by children and parents, and take steps to promote the healthy assimilation of this information into the broader understanding of the child's identity.