Caron’s Neurocognitive Assessment Program is offered in Florida at The Keele Medical Center. Patients will reside at The Keele Center in private rooms with en suite bathrooms.
Neurocognitive Assessment Program
The Keele Center
Bedroom
Exam Room
Dining Hall
Exam Room
Gym
Nurses Station
Program Highlights
At Caron, we focus on assessing and treating the brain to achieve optimal functioning through neurorestorative care. With our state-of-the-art neuro-integrated evaluation as the first step, we can more accurately diagnose and then prescribe targeted treatment plans. Utilizing some of the most effective and cutting-edge interventions available, we then address brain health comprehensively.
Behavioral health issues, such as addiction, anxiety, depression, thought disorders, and other cognitive disorders, can be traced back to the brain. These issues negatively impact the brain, interfering with the reward system, executive function, memory, attention, concentration, and more. Yet most assessments, treatment plans, and outcome data ignore the brain.
Cognitive changes due to substance use and neurodegenerative disorders like dementia may further complicate this picture. These changes often manifest as cognitive impairments, including memory loss, executive dysfunction, language problems, attention deficits, visuospatial impairments, and poor judgment and reasoning. Related behavioral changes can be equally profound, with individuals experiencing personality shifts, mood swings, social withdrawal, behavioral disinhibition, repetitive behaviors, and sleep disturbances.
Caron recognizes the brain's critical role in the broad spectrum of these disorders. Our comprehensive assessments and treatment plans address these neurological underpinnings, offering a holistic approach that integrates brain health into the core of our behavioral health services. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for individuals by targeting the root causes of these conditions and providing effective, brain-focused care.
Assessment Program Details
Caron’s neurocognitive assessment leverages the latest research and advancements to accurately diagnose and evaluate patients, ultimately providing the most effective treatment plans. It integrates medicine, neuropsychology, psychology, clinical neurotherapy, and fitness/wellness services, offering a comprehensive evaluation aimed at identifying and defining current versus optimal brain and body function.
This assessment includes:
- A comprehensive concierge medical evaluation, including laboratory tests for biomarkers and pharmacogenomic analysis
- Advanced neuroimaging with targeted brain studies such as FDG-PET scans
- A thorough baseline neurocognitive evaluation using neuropsychological and psychological
measures to objectively assess cognitive functioning, as well as emotional and
personality health - Neurotherapy services featuring 19-channel QEEG brain mapping with swLORETA analysis
- A detailed baseline physical fitness assessment to determine current fitness levels, identify barriers to movement and engagement, and establish goals for effective exercise and a healthier lifestyle
During the assessment, which typically spans 10 to 14 days, patients undergo a comprehensive battery of tests and monitoring. Additionally, they have the opportunity to engage in various services at The Keele Center tailored to their specific needs. These services may include participation in process groups, lectures, physical fitness activities, spiritual services, and more.
Analysis & Next Steps
Caron’s neurocognitive assessment team of experts collaborates to integrate data and assessment findings, informing the development of a personalized neurocognitive health care treatment plan that targets specific areas of the brain needing support. This tailored treatment plan is then shared with the patient, their family, and relevant professionals. Recommendations may include neurotherapies and biofeedback techniques such as neurofeedback, Alpha-Stim, and heart rate variability (HRV). Other treatment methods may also be part of the treatment plan, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and the Safe and Sound Protocol.
Continuing Care
If it is recommended that a patient continue their prescriptive treatment plan in one of Caron’s residential treatment programs in Florida, the neurocognitive assessment team will continuously monitor, validate, and adjust protocols over time to track and show progress. This ongoing analysis may involve repeat brain mapping, neurotherapy, laboratory studies, neurocognitive evaluation, neuroimaging, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).
Specialized Tests & Services to Assess the Brain
- Labs for biomarkers
- Brain imaging studies
- 19-channel quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) brain mapping
- Standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography analysis (swLORETA) neuroimaging
- Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)
- Neuropsychological measures to assess neurocognitive proficiency
- Emotional and personality functioning
Who Would Benefit from This Program
The neurocognitive assessment is ideal for individuals who:
- Seek to identify and define deficits in brain functioning due to substance abuse, mental health issues, trauma, cognitive impairments, or other underlying behavioral health issues
- Have been treated for a substance use disorder and are now struggling with cravings, relapse behaviors, or significant life changes causing distress
- Have tried various treatments with limited success and have not received concrete answers
- Are uncertain if the extent of their drug or alcohol use warrants addiction treatment
- Wish to understand the impact of their mental health on cognitive and emotional functioning
- Require a comprehensive evaluation to guide effective, personalized treatment plans
- Are looking to optimize brain health and improve overall cognitive performance
- Need a detailed assessment to inform family and healthcare providers about their cognitive and emotional health
- Have been previously assessed elsewhere and feel that their results were vague or non-applicable and are seeking a second opinion or further clarification
Our Neuro-integrative team brings extensive expertise to your treatment.
FAQs
Because substances and some medication used in detox can change a person’s neuromap, detox patients can complete a medical history, physical, and lab tests, but other parts of the assessment will have to wait. In addition, the clinical team may recommend that the patient complete residential treatment first.
There are no age restrictions as long as the patient is 18 or older. However, it is important that younger patients (ages 18 to 30) understand that there will be some limitations to the assessment process as their brains are not yet fully developed.
During the 10 days, in addition to undergoing a comprehensive battery of tests and monitoring, patients can engage in additional services offered at The Keele Medical Center that are best suited for their needs. This may include participation in process groups, lectures, physical fitness, spiritual services, and more. If patients would like to partake in any ancillary services, such as massage, acupuncture, reiki, breathwork, yoga, etc., it will be at the discretion of the neurocognitive assessment team and will be an out-of-pocket cost.
At the conclusion of the assessment, a patient will receive an integrated screening assessment summary and recommendations, which will include a summary of all test findings and impressions; a conclusion of the findings, and treatment recommendations. It will also include a comprehensive summary of all data findings. The integrated screening assessment will be shared/discussed with the patient as well as any other parties they have signed releases for.
This safe, painless procedure creates a picture of brain activity. An elastic cap with 19 sensors is placed on the patient's head. Those sensors record activity in critical sections of the brain to provide information about how the brain functions.
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) is a way to measure the cerebral metabolic rate for glucose, allowing clinicians to determine if brain functioning is diminished due to substance use disorder.
It is another way, in addition to qEEG brain mapping, to create a detailed picture of a patient's brain in order to map activity levels and functioning. One of the benefits of swLORETA is that it provides a 3D image.
Therapies used at Caron include:
Alpha-stim therapy uses a non-invasive cranial electrotherapy stimulation device to treat anxiety and insomnia. It delivers a low-amplitude, rhythmic current to the brain that regulates and balances electrochemical signals so that they can function normally.
Brain HQ training provides exercises that improve cognitive performance. The exercises include games and other skill-building techniques to improve attention, memory, and brain speed, among others.
Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback is a non-invasive method of increasing heart rate oscillations through real time feedback and slow breathing training. HRV is a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. More variability means that the autonomic nervous system is better able to regulate itself, which can help patients lower stress. Data has shown that if a person’s system is in fight-or-flight mode, the variation between heartbeats tends to be lower.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is an adjunctive treatment which involves the administration of 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure ranging from 1.5 to 3 atmospheres of pressure. This occurs in an airtight enclosure capable of withstanding high internal pressures. Inhaling pure oxygen higher than normal pressure causes plasma and hemoglobin to become super saturated enhancing oxygen delivery to all tissues.
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