University Hospital

Other Services that NBA offers

Inpatient

Inpatient Neuropsychological Assessments

Neuropsychological tests help us understand how the brain functions after injury (e.g. stoke, Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI]) so as to guide treatment and maximize recovery. Neuropsychological assessments help rule out degenerative conditions (e.g. dementia, movement disorders) which may need treatment or be limiting a person’s recovery.

Inpatient Medical Adjustment Counseling

Our staff provides individual, family and group therapies focused on assisting individuals - and the people in their lives - as they adjust to the many changes and challenges brought about by chronic illness, chronic pain, or physical injury. Our Medical Adjustment Counseling specializes in the treatment of chronic pain, as well as the adjustment to complex medical conditions like stroke, brain or spinal cord injury, and amputation.

Inpatient General Psychological Services

Patients struggling with depression, anxiety and/or other mental health concerns will benefit from psychological services at NBA, LLC. General psychological services include: Psychological testing and assessment for an accurate diagnosis; therapies for clinical, personality, and/or general medical conditions; and Counseling for transient life stressors.

Stroke

Truly interdisciplinary, this program begins with a neuropsychological evaluation followed by co-occurring rehabilitation psychology and speech-language therapy. Rehabilitation psychology helps the patient develop compensatory mechanisms to improve cognition and restructure their life so as to improve functionality, teaches families how to best interact with their loved one, and helps the patient cope with their medical condition and coexisting psychological issues. Speech language therapy focuses on improving thinking insession, with a particular focus on the areas of the brain identified as problematic on the neuropsychological assessment.

Pre Surgical Evaluations

Medicare, as well as most other insurance companies and third party payers, require a screening exam prior to spinal cord stimulator surgery, bariatrics, and dep brain stimulator. The goals of these screenings are to ensure that patients have realistic expectations about their implant, as well as to determine if any co-existing and/or treatable psychological conditions exist which may interfere with a successful outcome.

Forensics

We perform IMEs, medical chart review, and full treatment including psychiatric evaluation and medication management, psychotherapy, groups, and neuropsychological assessment. Dr. Hertza has significant experience in depositions and courtroom examination. We are also willing to travel throughout the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Common referrals are workers compensation, personal injury, disability, and medical malpractice. Communication with case managers and attorneys is always a priority, and we are available for phone consultation.

Pediatric Services

Neuropsychological Evaluation

For children, neuropsychological tests identify specific brain related problems such as learning disorders (e.g., dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD), developmental delays (e.g., Autism), and thinking or memory disturbances related to an injury or illness. The evaluation guides appropriate interventions that capitalize upon a child’s strengths, as well as to rehabilitate existing impairments. Doctors often meet with parents and teachers to help develop tailored education plans incorporating test results. A neuropsychological evaluation typically involves detailed analyses of the following for the sake of diagnostic clarity and treatment planning:

• Executive Functions: attention, inhibition, planning, set-shifting, organizing
• Motor Functions: strength, speed, dynamics, praxis, etc.
• Sensory Functions: auditory, visual, tactile, proprioception, etc.
• Perceptual Abilities: auditory, visual, tactile, etc.
• Memory and Learning: auditory, visual, encoding, consolidation, decoding, retrieval, etc.
• Intellectual Processes: information processing abilities that are important to do well in an academic setting
• Emotional & Behavioral Functioning: depression, anxiety, opposition, impulse-control disorders, etc.

Psychological Evaluation

Brain injuries, depending in part on the location and extent of lesion, can result in changes to one’s temperament, personality, behavior control, and emotional state. Sometimes, previously existing behavior problems or mood disturbances are worsened by a brain injury or illness. Psychological evaluations at NBA, LLC. assess ones emotional, behavioral, and social adjustment to an injury or illness for guiding therapy and other interventions. Psychotherapy: - Every child and family reacts differently to a disabling injury or illness. Hospital stays and disruption of daily life, as well as adjustment to an illness can cause additional stress. The psychologists at NBA, LLC. help children and their families adjust to these difficult life situations as well as treat preexisting mood or behavior problems. Therapy with a psychologist takes different forms depending on the needs of the patient, including play therapy, behavior therapy, and parent education.

Educational Consultation and Academic Coaching

A brain injury or illness can interfere with a child or teenager’s education, both by taking time away from school due to absences, as well as by causing thinking, learning, and behavior problems. Psychologists and neuropsychologists at NBA, LLC. can consult with teachers and other school staff towards tailoring a child’s or teenager’s education with their strengths and weaknesses in mind. We can assist their school in developing individualized education plans and provide individual sessions with an academic coach to learn strategies that will be helpful both inside and outside of the classroom. Our team also has access to a wealth of subject-specific tutors in our community if supplemental instruction is needed in order to remedy gaps in skills and content due to a medical leave from school