Assessment of Stroke

Have you or a loved one recently suffered from a stroke? Are you looking for answers about what this means, and what can be done? What does the future look like after a stroke?

Your questions are important. At Thoughtwise in Tallahassee, we can help you if you are seeking services for a neuropsychological, psychological, or mental health screening or evaluation after a stroke or after a suspected stroke.

Detecting or identifying if you have had a stroke is important. After identifying that you have had a stroke further testing may be important. Further evaluations with us may help you and your providers understand the implications and the path towards your rehabilitation.

What does it mean that I had a stroke?

A stroke is also called a CVA or cerebral vascular accident. A stroke is an interruption to blood flow to the brain, this damages brain tissue, and thus affects brain functioning. This helps us understand how severe the event truly is.

There are two types of stroke:

• Ischemic – blockage of blood flow to brain tissue, not enough blood flows to the brain. The more commonly occurring type around 85 of 100 strokes are this type.
  
• Hemorrhagic – Rupture of a blood vessel in the brain.

What can Thoughtwise do for me after I have experienced a stroke?

There are many ways that a stroke may affect your life and your mental health.

Some of the effects of a stroke on your mental health may be:

• Increased worry or stress.
• Behavioral changes.
• Emotional changes or disturbances
• Delirium/delusions.
• Disruptions to performance.
• Depression, anxiety, or other psychological or emotional issues.
• Difficulties or interruption to cognitive functioning in:
• Language.
• Memory.
• Communication.
• Visual-spatial or motor processes.
• Executive functioning, among others.

At Thoughtwise our experts in neuropsychology, mental health, and assessment and intervention, can help you from the beginning and throughout the entire process:

• We can perform neuropsychological screenings.
• We can recommend and conduct further comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations to determine the areas and parts of your brain that have been affected.
• We can help you and your doctors determine how you have been affected by the stroke.
• We can help you understand, and we can consult with you about the meaning of stroke and the interventions and choices that you have.
• We can help you continuously improve your life.
• We can monitor you for changes and improvements over time.
• We can deliver the counseling and therapeutic interventions that you need, some of those interventions that may be recommended:
• Solution-focused therapy.
• Problem-solving therapy.
• CBT.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
• Interpersonal therapy.
• Mindfulness therapy.

If you or a loved one has recently suffered from a stroke or a suspected stroke, early intervention is still possible. Please contact us at Thoughtwise in Tallahassee to consult with us about what you can do to improve and sustain the highest quality of life.