Helpful Tools and Information for Your Journey of Healing
Books and Chapters by Diane H. Engelman
Collaboration in Neuropsychological Assessment: Metaphor as Intervention with a Suicidal Adult
Synopsis:
In Chapter 4 of the edited book, Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment: A Casebook and Guide (Eds. S.E. Finn, C.T. Fischer, & L. Handler; Wiley, 2012), my co-author JB Allyn and I describe and discuss the extended collaboration during one neuropsychological assessment. Client and assessor (Engelman) together worked to explore the significance of various assessment results for the young woman. Engelman and Allyn then collaborated on an allegorical story of the woman’s life and experience, which was used as the basis for feedback and discussion with the client.
Articles and Papers by Diane H. Engelman
Synopsis:
In this article, my co-authors and I – assessors from three continents and one professional writer – discuss our work together on a single collaborative/therapeutic assessment case. Our goal was to hold the client at the center and forefront of our attitudes and thinking as each assessor focused on a specific measure or group of measures. Individualized letters from each assessor addressed the client’s six questions, and a therapeutic story by the writer stressed key findings from the assessment.
Co-written with JB Allyn, Alessandro Crisi, Stephen E. Finn, Constance T. Fischer, and Noriko Nakamura.
Quality of Life in Older Adults: “Old Age Ain’t No Place for Sissies”
Synopsis:
Aging – a fact of life for us all. This paper explores the experiences of one older adult, her family, and the neuropsychologist who assesses the woman’s memory using the techniques of Therapeutic Assessment. The collaboration among them all provides the key to answering the client’s questions. Results examine what is important to each of us and how that importance influences memory, depression, and our own humanity.
This paper was published in Italian in the online journal Babele, issue #25 (64), September 2015. Its Italian title is La qualita della vita negli anziani. To read this article in the journal, go to this link and turn to page 46.
Co-written and presented with JB Allyn.
Download PDF of English version
The Three Person Field: Collaborative Consultation to Psychotherapy
Synopsis:
In this paper, my co-author Steven Frankel and I describe and discuss our work at the Center for Collaborative Psychology and Psychiatry. We use a collaborative model of assessment and treatment, analogous to Stephen Finn’s therapeutic assessment and to Constance Fischer’s individualized, collaborative assessment. In our model, collaboration occurs between each member of the therapy team: client, therapist, and consultant. Consultation to the therapy is a standard part of our collaborative therapy protocol, used for therapies conducted through the Center.
Neuropsychology of Bipolar Disorder
Synopsis:
Written in 2006, this paper is a comprehensive review of bipolar disorder, a life-long condition that tends to progress and recur over time, but to a reasonable extent can often be contained. I cover the most recent findings on: the neurochemistry, genetics, neuroanatomy, course of bipolar illness, and its treatment.
Brain-Behavior Relationships in Systems of Emotion
Synopsis:
In this paper, I aim to develop a satisfactory definition of emotion, making clear how it relates to, but exceeds, the bounds of cognition. This area of human functioning is complex anatomically and chemically. It is also central to everyday experience and, therefore, to psychological and psychiatric treatments. In this paper, I review the complex neurobiology of emotion, ultimately reflecting on its place in treatments.
Through the Land of Oz: Self-Advocacy in Today’s Health Care System
Synopsis:
In this article, my co-author JB Allyn and I trace the frustrating but ultimately empowering journey that my daughter and I took to get appropriate care for her serious heart condition. Time and again we became entangled in the self-serving maze of a large HMO’s bureaucracy, learning and re-learning the importance of self-education and self-advocacy.
Examples of Therapeutic Stories
Synopsis of Our Story Process:
Based on a client’s assessment results, I may decide that certain mental health and neuropsychological messages would have additional therapeutic impact if framed in a story. My co-author, writer JB Allyn, creates the story, in which images and characters metaphorically reflect the client’s history and life experience and reinforce the messages I’ve selected.
- Story for an adult – A Story for Nerina
- Story for a child – A Story for Isabella
Recommended Websites
Cogmed Working Memory Training
- More on Cogmed research – www.cogmed.com/research
Therapeutic Assessment Institute
Dr. Diane Engelman is certified through the Therapeutic Assessment Institute to carry out Therapeutic Assessments with adults
Additional Resources
Selected publications on brain-based functioning, collaborative and therapeutic assessment, metaphor, neurodiversity, and therapeutic stories:
Allyn, J.B. (2012). Writing to Clients and Referring Professionals About Psychological Assessment Results. New York, NY: Routledge. http://www.routledgementalhealth.com/9780415891240
Blume, H. (1998.) Neurodiversity. The Atlantic, September 30, 1998.
Cox, M., & Theilgaard, A. (1987). Mutative metaphors in psychotherapy: The aeolian mode. London: Tavistock Publications.
Dwivedi, K.N., & Gardner, D. (1997). Theoretical perspectives and clinical approaches. In K.N. Dwivedi (Ed.), The therapeutic use of stories (pp. 19-41). London: Routledge.
Doidge, Norman (2007). The brain that changes itself. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Finn, S.E. (2007). In our clients’ shoes: Theory and techniques of therapeutic assessment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Fischer, C. T. (1994). Individualizing psychological assessment: A collaborative and therapeutic approach. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Koziol, L. F., & Budding, D. E. (2009). Subcortical structures and cognition: Implications for neuropsychological assessment. New York: Springer Science.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Notice of Privacy Practices: By law, I, Diane Engelman, am required to insure that your protected health information is kept private. Click on the link above to read or print the full document.
