Clinics
Monterey Hall Community Services Facility
Program Overview
With the designation of Monterey Hall as a center for the CSUN Community Services Center, faculty in the Psychology Department initiated the development of several on-campus direct service programs. The purpose of these programs was twofold:
1) To contribute to the development of the CSUN Community Services Center by providing direct professional services to individuals in the community.
2) To provide on-campus training of selected undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled in programs involving service delivery.
Currently the Psychology Department sponsors four programs which provide service delivery and training of students enrolled in the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program. The current programs include both diagnostic/evaluation and intervention programs, two of which are specialized for children or adolescents, and two of which are designed for adults. Descriptions of the current programs, together with contact information are listed below.
Child and Adolescent Diagnostic Assessment Program
The Child and Adolescent Assessment Clinic provides diagnostic psychometric assessment and evaluation of children referred for suspected Learning Disability/Dyslexia, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and their associated learning and behavioral issues. Referrals are received from parents and professionals, and include comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations of such areas as attention, cognition, information processing, language, academic achievement, and social-emotional adjustment. Although referrals for preschool and high school age students are considered, children of elementary and middle school age are preferred.
Two general types of assessments are available. Comprehensive psycho-educational assessment of children who have not previously been evaluated is typically required, and involves an interview with parent(s) and child, a full day of assessment, and a return visit for feedback conference, written report, and recommendations. For children who have previously been evaluated and are being seen for follow-up, and/or for a second opinion, specialized assessments are targeted at specific referral questions.
A second, specialized clinic is available for children ages 5-12 with suspected Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and/or Attention/Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Such children often present difficulty with listening comprehension, following verbal directions, and verbal organization. Because of the frequent overlap or co-occurrence of auditory processing and attentional disorders, this specialty clinic was developed to consolidate these specialized assessments. Referred children are initially evaluated under the direction of Ms. Roz Firemark, Audiologist in the Language, Speech, and Hearing Clinics, CSUN Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences.
Children are seen for a ½ day audiometric screening and specialized assessment of auditory processing. Subsequently, the children are scheduled an additional ½ day for a specialized assessment of vigilance, visual and auditory attention span, and impulsivity, and standardized parent and teacher ratings of attention. Children evaluated through the Psychology Department clinics are also typically involved in ongoing studies including: the relationship of phonological and other auditory-language abilities to reading achievement; the co-morbidity of APD and AD/HD.
Additional information about the appropriateness of referrals and/or request for an evaluation should be addressed to:
Professor Jean Elbert, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-2825
Office: (818) 677- 5977 FAX: (818) 677- 2829
Parent-Child Interaction Program
The Parent-child Interaction Program is for parents and caregivers of developmentally disabled children whose behavior is problematic. This program consists of a weekly series of twelve sessions, each lasting for one and one-half hours. There are six primary goals of the program:
- To help parents understand the biological and psychological principles of attachment theory and to assist them in providing the basis for a secure attachment between parents and their child.
- To present strategies which will create an optimal earning environment in the family.
- To focus on behaviors in the child, the parent, and their interaction that can be modified to facilitate the child's growth and development and to enhance family living.
- To offer group members a safe place in which members may support one another and exchange resources.
- To train M.A. level students in parent education techniques and to foster the development of group leadership/therapy skills.
- To collect data for four on-going research projects.
This program will provide parents and caregivers with a broad knowledge of the principles of attachment theory and applied behavior modification. Most modules will center around a didactic presentation with examples, role-play situations, discussions, and hand-outs. Participants will be asked to do homework each week. This method encourages parents to put into practice during the week what was learned in each session. Each of the twelve sessions will have a different topic, and each topic will build on the information presented in the session before it.
The Parent-Child Interaction Project is a service delivery program which is part of the Community Service Center Clinics housed in Monterey Hall. Each treatment room has video recording capabilities and is equipped with one-way mirrors and observation rooms. Parent-child or sibling behaviors can be tabulated live from behind the one-way mirror, or can be tabulated from videotape. In addition, observation rooms have the capacity for computer hood-ups to make data collection quite easy.
The parent training program has spawned and supports four on-going research projects. Most of the parents and siblings of the developmentally disabled children who come to the clinic to receive parent training can also serve as subjects in the following on-going research projects:
- The effect of developmental disability on parent-child attachment
- Differential parenting as a within family variable
- Linking strength of parent attachment and self regulation in children
- Conditions of sibling support for a developmentally disabled child
Professor Dee Shepherd-Look, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330
Office: (818) 677-3429 Fax: (818) 677-2829 Top
Anxiety and Mood Disorders Clinic
The Anxiety and Mood Disorders Clinic at Monterey Hall is designed to provide psychotherapeutic treatment to adults in the community who suffer from specific forms of anxiety and depression. We do not presume to treat all anxiety or mood disorders, but focus specifically on the following disorders:
- Specific phobias
- Panic Disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Generalized Anxiety
- Major Depression
- Dysthymia
Prospective clients first complete a two-hour screening interview in order to determine the nature of their psychological problems, appropriateness of treatment at this particular clinic, any co morbid conditions, motivation for treatment, and complicating or positive factors for treatment success. If appropriate for treatment at this clinic, a treatment plan is developed for the client and weekly, one-hour individual psychotherapy sessions are scheduled. Graduate interns, who are earning their Master's Degrees in Clinical Psychology at California State University, Northridge, provide the therapeutic services. A California licensed clinical psychologist supervises all of the interns.
The specific types of treatment and therapeutic techniques that are employed vary depending on the client's disorder and his/her individual needs. In general, the Cognitive-Behavioral model of treatment is implemented, in which the client is provided with psycho-educational information and the focus of treatment is on changing maladaptive cognitions and behaviors.
Fees are about a third of those charged in private practice and are affordable for most clients. In certain circumstances, a sliding-scale fee schedule may be used. While we strive to make this clinic as affordable as possible, we believe that paying is an important part of motivation for improvement and participation in treatment.
Additional information about the appropriateness of referrals and/or request for an evaluation should be addressed to:
Assistant Professor Jill Razani, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330
Office: (818) 677-4623 Fax: (818) 677-2829
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Neuropsychology Diagnostic Lab
The problem of differential diagnosis of cognitive decline associated with normal aging, reversible dementias and Dementia of Alzheimer's Type (DAT) becomes a burgeoning issue for neuroscientists and clinicians due to a considerable increase in the proportion of the elderly population. Behavioral data alone do not provide sufficient information for early diagnosis of cognitive decline in the elderly. Evoked potentials, as physiological markers of neural processes, promise to be sensitive tools in differential diagnosis of DAT. However, they are not yet fully understood. The study conducted in Monterey Hall Neuropsychology Diagnostic Laboratory addresses age-related and disease-related changes in amplitude, latency, and topographical specificity of N200 and P300 evoked potentials and their relationship to cognitive, sensory, and social competence.
Psychology faculty and students in collaboration with UCLA researchers are working with patients who have memory and cognitive deficits suggestive of early stages of dementia. The patients as well as intact elderly (to provide for a comparison group) are subjected to a 5-component diagnostic workup, which includes recording of visual event-related brain potentials, a battery of neuropsychological tests, a test of olfaction, a measure of social cognition, and tests of actual ability to carry out their daily activities. The entire workup takes about seven hours and is spread over several days for each participant. The scheduling of testing sessions is flexible, considering the fragile condition of the participants. The EEG component of the diagnostic workup is equipment-intensive and involves use of the Neuroscan, a stimulus delivery and data acquisition system. Analysis of the data obtained to date provided some meaningful insights into the physiological markers of DAT and their relation to behavioral changes, which were presented at professional forums.
The goal of this project is to contribute to better understanding of neurocognitive mechanisms of DAT and other dementias, and to improve differential diagnosis of dementia. Early differentiation of DAT vs. normal aging and other conditions could provide a timely opportunity for therapeutic intervention in case of the treatable dementias (i.e. affective, metabolic, toxic, etc.). In addition, early identification of DAT will result in more effective behavioral and pharmacological intervention at a time when the patient is less functionally impaired, and will promote realistic appraisal of patient's behavior by significant others, which will have positive effect on the quality of life of patients and reduce caregiver burden.
This work is done in collaboration with the local chapter of Alzheimer's Association and with the CARE program of the Granada Hills Hospital. Clinical participants and their caregivers are provided with written feedback regarding their neuropsychological functioning, which they can keep for their medical records and/or share with their healthcare professionals. Information on participant's cognitive competence might be helpful in refining his/her diagnosis, in understanding the nature of his/her behavioral problems and in treatment planning.
Professor Maura Mitrushina, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330
Office: (818) 677-4736 Fax: (818) 677-2829