The Testing Psychologist Podcast

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. “Parenting should be a separate developmental stage.” Dr. Rita Eichenstein is here today to talk with me about parenting and the changes that happen when adults adopt this new identity, particularly when parenting “atypical” kids. We focus on the stages of grief model that she discusses in her book, Not What I Expected, which walks through the classic 5-stage process in the context of having a child diagnosed with any number of neurodevelopmental concerns. Rita also shares several stories and examples of how to tweak your evaluation process to meet parents where they’re at in the model. Here are just a few things that we touch on: Why parenting should be a separate “developmental stage”Why you might say to parents, “tell me your story” instead of “what brings you in?” Why Rita sends a report draft to parents the night before feedback Cool Things Mentioned Devon Maceachron’s mythbusters articlesWelcome to Holland article Pediatric Therapeutic Assessment episodeRita’s website: www.drritaeichenstein.comRita’s book, Not What I Expected The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Rita Eichenstein Rita Eichenstein, Ph.D., is a noted psychologist,  pediatric neuropsychologist, and author, renowned in the field of child development, and author of the award-winning book: Not What I Expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children. Dr. Rita has a private practice in Los Angeles, California, where she has served both atypical children of all ages, and their parents, for over 25 years.  Her life’s work has been to create a diagnostic and assessment environment that is warm, supportive, and accurate.  Understanding that the child is not a single unit, but comes with an entire system of parents, siblings and families, the approach to working with atypical children must include the parents.  An “atypical child” – a term coined by Dr. Eichenstein – encompasses children who do not conform to the usual expectations, whether because of a learning disorder, behavioral or psychological issues, medical problem, or another condition, as well as quirky kids, whose symptoms and behaviors defy official diagnostic categories, but who still face challenges. You can find out more at her website: Dr. Rita Eichenstein dot com or check out her book  “Not what I expected: Help and Hope for Parents of Atypical Children” on Amazon.    About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. I’m back with you today for a “business” episode talking all about the options for remote assessment of autism. Many of us have adopted remote assessment options for cognitive and behavioral assessment, but autism remains the final frontier during COVID-19 simply because many of us rely on in-person, non-socially distanced interactions to make accurate autism diagnoses. The good news is that there are a few viable options to gather good diagnostic info to be used in autism assessments. Cool Things Mentioned TELE-ASD-PEDS: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/triad/TELE-ASD-PEDS/ NODA: https://www.nodaautismdiagnosis.com/ CADE/CLEAR: https://clearchildpsychology.com/clear-and-covid-19/ MIGDAS-2 ADOS-2 The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

In this discussion, Dr. Linda McGhee, a clinical psychologist and lawyer with expertise in child and adolescent assessment, shares her insights on cultural competence in psychological evaluations. She emphasizes the necessity of understanding diverse backgrounds to improve assessment practices, especially in the wake of COVID-19. Key topics include addressing biases in clinical settings and the importance of inclusive approaches for families facing stigma. Dr. McGhee also highlights the underrepresentation of minority neuropsychologists and the role of literature in fostering a more nuanced understanding of race and culture.

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. This podcast has been a huge part of my life for going on four years. When it began, I had no idea if people would care enough about assessment-related content to make it a viable pursuit. All I knew was that there was a lack of resources for building a testing practice, and I wanted to help solve that problem. There was no way I could have imagined where it would end up after all of these episodes! I’ve had the incredible privilege of talking with some of the best psychologists and neuropsychologists around, as well as the good fortune to connect with thousands of clinicians around the world. As time has gone on, the podcast has really taken on a life of its own. What started as a means of delivering business coaching and advice to testing psychologists has morphed largely into a medium for expert clinical interviews that people clearly value. That said, I’ve recognized that I want to get back to the roots, so to speak, and bring more consistent business content. The whole reason I started this podcast was that I had no resources or guide when I was building my testing practice. I think many of you are still in the same boat, feeling lost or overwhelmed with the potential directions for your practice.  As the podcast moves forward, you’ll see some extra content. I love coaching other psychologists as they grow and refine their practices, and I want to do more of it. Starting soon, you’ll now see two episodes each week: a clinical episode or interview on Monday, and a business episode on Thursday. I’m excited to get back to what led me to start the Testing Psychologist in the first place. I hope that you’ll continue on this journey with me. As always, let me know what you think and what kind of content you’d like to see in the future! Happy testing The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to get started! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. I think many of us would say that our current categorical system of diagnosis is imperfect. The episode today shines a light on an alternative approach that relies on a hierarchical model.  I’m honored to have Dr. Katherine Jonas here today to talk all about the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology. If you haven’t heard of HiTOP, you’re not alone, but you’ll know what it’s all about by the end of the episode. And if you’re like me, you’ll be VERY interested in exploring it further. Here are just a few things that we touch on today: Difference between categorical and dimensional systems of diagnosisDiagnoses that have many dimensional similaritiesHow HiTOP plays into billingMeasures and other clinical applications of HiTOP Cool Things Mentioned HiTOP websiteCamilla Ruggero’s workgroupTableau visualization software The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Katherine Jonas Dr. Katherine Jonas is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at Stony Brook University.  She completed her graduate degree at the University of Iowa, and her clinical residency at the Minneapolis VA. Dr. Jonas joined the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology consortium in 2017, and contributes to the consortium’s development of self-report and interviewer based measures of psychopathology, as well as implementation of HiTOP assessments in clinical settings. She also contributes to the consortium’s program of genomic research. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Jennie Schottmiller, Certified Public Accountant and LMFT, is here to talk all about COVID-19 finances. We cover SO much ground in this episode, starting with how to manage finances during the pandemic and moving through everything you need to know about the PPP (whether you received it or not). Here are just a few things that we get into: How our financial mindset has to shift during the pandemicHow the pandemic will affect our mindset in the future, when we can return to work How to navigate the PPP loan processWhat do do with your PPP loan (if you got one)What to do if you didn’t get a PPP loanWhat documentation you will probably need for forgiveness of the PPP loan Cool Things Mentioned https://www.simpleprofit.com/Coronavirus FAQ: https://www.simpleprofit.com/coronavirus-faqPPP loan forgiveness: https://www.simpleprofit.com/pppforgivenessemail: jennie@simpleprofit.comSimple Profit for Mental Health Clinicians group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/simpleprofit/Simple Profit PPP loan forgiveness group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pppforgiveness/QuickbooksBlue Vine  The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Jennie Schottmiller, LMFT, CPA Jennie Schottmiller is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Pennsylvania. In 2007, Jennie left accounting to focus on health and family. She became a marriage and family therapist in 2010. Soon after opening her private therapy practice, Jennie realized that many of her peers struggled with accounting, tax, budgeting and cash management. In addition to her clinical practice, she now runs a thriving Simple Profit Facebook group and website, simpleprofit.com. Simple Profit offers free resources as well as educational courses to support and coaching to empower clinicians. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. A few months ago, I got the same email from several people within a couple of days: “Jeremy, you HAVE to have Donna Henderson on your podcast to talk about autism in girls!” At the time, Donna had just circulated a comparison table of autism symptoms and presentation in the PED-NPSY listserv, and it spread like wildfire. I’m so fortunate to have her here today to dive deep into autism and how it looks in girls and women. These are just a few things that we cover: Are we really missing girls with ASD? If these cases are so subtle, does it matter if we’re missing them? How do girls on the spectrum present differently? Typical battery for assessing autism in girls Cool Things Mentioned https://www.drdonnahenderson.com/post/i-wrote-a-book CAT-Q (Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire) Simon Baren Cohen’s measures Social Language Development Test drdonnahenderson.com Donna’s table comparing ASD presentations The Testing Psychologist podcast is now approved for CEU’s! I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Donna Henderson Dr. Donna Henderson has been a clinical psychologist for 25 years. She earned her doctoral degree from the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University and subsequently worked as a staff psychologist and then Director of Acquired Brain Injury at the Gaylord Hospital in Connecticut. After staying home with her three children, Dr. Henderson joined a private practice, The Stixrud Group, in 2011. She specializes in neuropsychological evaluations for individuals with cognitive, academic, social, and/or emotional challenges, with a particular specialty in autism.  Dr. Henderson is a frequent lecturer on the subtle presentations of autism, on girls and women with autism, and on parenting children with complex profiles. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Dr. Linda Daniel joins me today to talk through her best-practice strategies for assessing toddlers. We look through the lens of autism for most of the conversation, but these ideas are applicable to anyone who works with toddlers on a regular basis. We also touch frequently on training post-docs and interns to work with toddlers and parents. Here are just a few topics that come up: How to “read the room” when assessing toddlersManaging your emotions and your own fear when assessing infants and toddlersStrategies to get familiar with toddlers and increase your comfort with themHow to engage toddlers during the assessment processHow to work with toddlers who are melting down Cool Things Mentioned Bayley-4ADOS-2Linda’s practiceGAIN program for training on the ADOS-2 toddler moduleLinda’s email for any questions or discussion: drdaniel@learningcurveassessment.com The Testing Psychologist podcast is now approved for CEU’s! I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Linda Daniel Dr. Daniel is a licensed psychologist and pediatric neuropsychologist based in South Easton, Massachusetts. She has over 15 years of experience in the field, performing neuropsychological evaluations, autism diagnostic evaluations, multidisciplinary evaluations, school/program observations, and clinical consultations with her work experience ranging from inpatient/outpatient and schools to private practice settings. She works with children ages 14 months to 22 years. She often works collaboratively with a multitude of professionals involved in a child’s care/services, including developmental pediatricians, neurologists, speech & language pathologists, educators, advocates, and special education attorneys. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. In this age of nearly mandatory remote assessment, I’m fortunate to have two amazing individuals from PAR Inc. here to talk through their perspectives on remote administration. We touch on their platform, PARiConnect, as well the main considerations for remote administration, concerns with remote administration, and cultural factors in remote administration. We also spend some time discussing technology issues and the ways that PAR continues to support practitioners through the COVID-19 crisis. Cool Things Mentioned Access the videos “PARiConnect Remote Administration” and “Installing and navigating PAR e-Manuals” as well as the PARiConnect webinar by visiting PAR’s COVID-19 Resource PageAssessments that offer i-administrations through PARiConnectPAR Training Portal The Testing Psychologist podcast is approved for CEU’s! I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Daniel McFadden & Dr. Carrie Champ Morera Daniel McFadden is the Director of Customer Support for PAR, Inc. Daniel has been with PAR for more than 19 years. He began as a Customer Support Specialist, then led the Technical Support department before taking over as Director of Customer Support. He is responsible for ensuring that PAR provides unparalleled Customer Service and Technical Support for all the products we sell. His team works to answer every call live, with a goal of delighting every customer in every interaction. Daniel is also an internal Product Champion for PARiConnect, responsible for gathering customer feedback and providing recommendations for improvements, along with delivering monthly webinars. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and an MBA from the University of South Florida. Prior to joining PAR, Daniel was the assistant station manager at WBUL-1620 AM at USF. Carrie Champ Morera, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, professional counselor, and board-certified telemental health provider with 19 years of experience in the mental health and education fields. She has provided psychological, supervision, and consultative services in schools and outpatient settings. At PAR, Dr. Champ Morera assists in driving product strategy, definition, and execution for PAR’s clinical assessment product line. She serves as the primary content specialist, project manager, and psychometrician for the development of print and digital assessment products. Prior to joining PAR as a project director, Dr. Champ Morera led the admissions assessment function for a residential school in Pennsylvania in which she designed, implemented, and managed the evaluation and review of applicants to maintain a student body and school program. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call

Would you rather read the transcript? Click here. Dr. Alison Wilkinson-Smith is here today to chat about therapeutic assessment with kids. As a classically-trained neuropsychologist, Alison has a nice blend of traditional and non-traditional approaches to testing. We chat about the ins and outs of pediatric therapeutic assessment, from intake to testing to feedback, with a family intervention session thrown in there as well. These are just a few things that Alison and I cover: The research behind pediatric therapeutic assessmentThe structure of a pediatric therapeutic assessmentTypical measures used in the pediatric therapeutic assessment processHow to integrate this approach in a hospital setting Cool Things Mentioned Dr. Raja David’s episodes on therapeutic assessment with adults: Part One and Part TwoTherapeutic Assessment InstitutePostin and hansen meta analysisSteve Finn’s book (affiliate link), In Our Client’s ShoesTherapeutic assessment casebook (affiliate link) The Testing Psychologist podcast is now approved for CEU’s! I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with At Health to offer CE credits for podcast episodes! Visit this link to access current and past episodes available for CE credit. You can use code “TTP10” for a discount on ALL the course credits you purchase from At Health! About Dr. Alison Wilkinson-Smith Dr. Wilkinson-Smith is a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center.  She is board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology, has a sub-specialty certification in pediatric Neuropsychology, and is certified in Therapeutic Assessment of children. She provides neuropsychological evaluations and Therapeutic Assessments of pediatric patients of all ages.  Her clinical and research interests include therapeutic and collaborative assessment techniques, functional neurological disorders, autoimmune encephalitis, and neuropsychological assessment in the context of complex psychosocial issues.  She has a PhD in School Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.  She completed her internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Consortium and a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. About Dr. Jeremy Sharp I’m a licensed psychologist and Clinical Director at the Colorado Center for Assessment & Counseling, a private practice that I founded in 2009 and grew to include 12 licensed clinicians, three clinicians in training, and a full administrative staff. I earned my undergraduate degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina before getting my Master’s and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University. These days, I specialize in psychological and neuropsychological evaluation with kids and adolescents. As the host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, I provide private practice consulting for psychologists and other mental health professionals who want to start or grow psychological testing services in their practices. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado with my wife (also a therapist) and two young kids. Ready to grow your testing services? Click below to schedule a complimentary 30-minute pre-consulting call! Schedule Your Call