Elizabeth Roberts, PsyD
Lifespan Psychologist and Neuropsychologist

FAQ

What is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy comes in many forms. Meaningful, effective psychotherapy occurs within a trusting relationship. Psychotherapy opens up opportunities for people to feel better, gain new understanding about themselves and others, explore change, improve relationships, and make better future choices. Dr. Roberts offers psychotherapy to adults and families.

What is Neuropsychology?

Neuropsychology is the study of the relationship between the brain and a person’s behavior—how the person thinks, feels, speaks, understands language, solves problems, relates to others, and behaves in everyday life.

What is a Neuropsychological Evaluation?

A neuropsychological evaluation identifies the underlying causes of a person’s difficulties by assessing his or her cognitive strengths and weakness and their impact on functioning in the home, school, work, and community environments. Evaluation often determines whether the person meets criteria for a specific condition, such as dementia, learning disability, or others. Neuropsychological evaluation is a process that uses interviewing, questionnaires/rating scales, various paper-and-pencil and many other types of tests to accomplish this goal. It can be tiring, but it is safe and does not cause any physical discomfort. The process concludes with a feedback session to review findings, impressions, and recommendations, and these are summarized in a neuropsychological report. Dr. Roberts offers neuropsychological evaluation to children and adults.

What is a Diagnostic Evaluation?

A diagnostic evaluation investigates whether a person is struggling with a specific mental health condition such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, or others. It consists of different types of interviews or interactions, often with the individual and family members. It often includes questionnaires, rating scales, or even an observation outside the office to best understand the person’s strengths and challenges. At the end of this process, a feedback session occurs to review findings, impressions, and recommendations, and these are summarized in a report. Dr. Roberts offers diagnostic evaluation for autism spectrum disorder and all other mental health conditions, for children and adults of all ages.

How much time does an evaluation require?

The total amount of time required to complete an evaluation varies. It depends on the referral question or challenge, whether any testing was done in the recent past, the age of the person, and other factors.

What information does an evaluation provide?

The evaluation will:

What is legal advocacy?

Advocacy involves supporting a person to get informed about options, resources, and rights in a given situation. Legal advocacy involves working with a person who may require forensic evaluation to support him or her with a legal problem.

What do services cost?

Service costs are discussed during the initial phone consultation, and rates are provided at the intake appointment. Dr. Roberts accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA. For all others, she is an out-of-network provider. Depending on the type of plan you have, insurance reimbursement may be available to you from your insurance company via out-of-network benefits. Dr. Roberts will provide you the paperwork and information you need to submit your claim to your insurance company.

What are the steps?

Once you contact Dr. Roberts by phone or email, a phone meeting will be set up to discuss your concerns. She will then email or send you some routine forms to be brought to the first appointment. The first appointment consists of an intake interview. A plan for evaluation and/or therapy is agreed on and subsequent appointments are scheduled.

Where can I find more information?

Here are links to some well-known foundations or associations that can get you started.