Adults
Based on statistics from the Canadian Mental Health Association, over 20% of adults will experience a mental health difficulty in their lifetime. While this figure might seem high, and it is, it doesn’t account for the many individuals who struggle with feelings of worry or struggle to find happiness in their daily lives.
At Sullivan + Associates, we are passionate about helping our clients to identify the results they want to achieve and work together collaboratively to develop a plan to achieve their goals.
Psychotherapy/
With our adult clients, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is typically the treatment of choice. This approach is focused on identifying negative patterns of thoughts and behaviours and creating new and better patterns of thinking and behaving which help to improve how people feel.
As with all CBT approaches, the focus is on learning specific skills and strategies that can be used to achieve therapeutic goals. Once these goals have been met, we hope that our clients will continue to use the skills they have learned to help improve the quality of their daily lives, even after they have finished psychotherapy/
For a more detailed description about psychotherapy/
At our clinic, the most common issues we see our adult clients include:
- Anxiety
- Worry
- Depression
- Anxiety attacks
- Happiness
- Stress
- Trauma
- Grief
- Social anxiety
Psychological Assessments
The most common assessments that we complete for our adult clients include Psychological (Mental Health), Psychoeducational (Learning), ADHD (Attention), and Autism (Developmental) assessments.
For a more detailed description of the assessment process, please click here.
Psychological (Mental Health)
These assessments are typically completed to identify a specific mental health issue for:
- Self-discovery
- Developing appropriate treatment planning for psychotherapy/
counselling services - Identifying the correct diagnosis to help physicians determine the proper medication for treatment
- Creating a more precise clinical picture when there appear to be multiple issues causing difficulty
- Fulfilling the request of an insurance provider (i.e., Motor Vehicle Accident insurance, WSIB, LTD, etc.)
Psychoeducational (Learning)
Psychoeducational assessments are often completed when there appears to be cognitive or learning difficulties that are negatively impacting performance in College or University, or in some cases, the workplace.
These assessments can be helpful by:
- Identifying where learning difficulties are occurring
- Outlining appropriate recommendations and accommodations to assist with learning at home, in school or the workplace
- Recommending the use of assistive technology to improve learning and academic performance
- Discovering academic strengths and providing valuable information for students who may be considering switching to a different academic major
ADHD (Attention)
An assessment for attentional difficulties can be helpful by identifying issues with attention, impulsivity and executive functioning (i.e., organization and regulation). An ADHD assessment can help to:
- Create recommendations for treatment planning for psychotherapy/
counselling - Develop a plan to improve academic or work performance if these are areas of difficulty
- To provide suggestions to enhance organization and other executive functioning difficulties that negatively impact daily life
- Provide a definitive diagnosis if medication is being considered as a treatment option
Autism (Developmental)
Autism assessments for adults involve assessing for Aspergers (which is now considered an Autism diagnosis in the new DSM-V). Significant issues with autism are routinely diagnosed in childhood. An assessment for Autism (Developmental) can be helpful by:
- Explaining social behaviour or interests that may be different from most people
- Explaining why there is limited interest in socializing
- Providing appropriate treatment recommendations for psychotherapy/
counselling - Explaining peculiar behaviour such as maintaining a primary area of interest that seems unusual or engaging in restricted or repetitive behaviours
- Creating a treatment plan to help improve social skills
Neuropsychological (neurocognitive)
A neuropsychological assessment can be helpful with identifying difficulties in brain function such as cognition, learning, executive functioning, language, etc. This assessment can help to:
- determine if there are deficits in learning and functioning related to a neurological or birth condition such as a seizure disorder, epilepsy, premature birth, alcohol or substance use during pregnancy, brain tumor, acquired or congenital hydrocephalus, etc.
- examine brain functioning after an impact to the head resulting in a concussion (e.g., motor vehicle accident, slip and fall, sports injury, etc.)
- determine if there are cognitive difficulties in all areas of learning
- identify learning difficulties in specific areas (i.e., math, spelling, reading, writing, etc.)
- create recommendations for home and school functioning when there is difficulty in an identified area of brain functioning
- provide recommendations for assistive technology (i.e., use of a laptop, etc.) to assist with learning at school
- offer important information when considering what area to pursue in post-secondary education or in a future occupation