Welcome to my website...
I am a Board Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist and a Board Certified Clinical Health Psychologist (i.e., medical psychologist), who sees patients to evaluate and address cognitive, psychological and behavioral issues caused by a variety of conditions:
- Complex memory/medical disorders & dementias
- Movement Disorders: Parkinson's disease and atypical Parkinson's disorders, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Multiple Systems Atrophy, etc.
Huntington's disease
- Epilepsy and other seizure disorders
- Brain Tumors/cerebral neoplasms
- Fronto-temporal Diseases (Primary progressive aphasia, corticobasal ganglionic
degeneration [CBD or CBGD], semantic dementia
- Stroke and other cerebrovascular accidents (e.g., brain bleeds/ hemorrhage/
aneurysm)
- Effect of cardiovascular disease / heart attacks, diabetes, sleep disorders (apnea,
restless legs) on cognitive function
- Multiple sclerosis
- "Long-Covid-19" post-viral syndrome cognitive changes and decline
- Metabolic and other encephalopathies (e.g., hepatic encephalopathy, anoxia,
viral meningitis or encephalitis, post-operative or post-chemotherapy cognitive
changes, etc.)
COVID-19 CONCERNS
Covid-19 has resulted in many difficult changes in health and medical care over the past two years. In regard to neuropsychological evaluations, doctors in this specialty have seen a tidal wave of referrals recently that has resulted in patients waiting sometimes for many months (in some practices, we understand, as long as a year) before being scheduled to be seen for their formal testing appointments.
Dr. Schneiders feels this situation is clinically unacceptable – there are people who medically need to see a neuropsychologist far sooner rather than much later – and so he has added another clinical day a week to see additional patients for that reason. Still, we realize we are nevertheless unfortunately unable to schedule all the patients referred to us as quickly as we would like regardless of the number of days each week Dr. Schneiders is able to work.
At this time, we are instituting a new scheduling option for patients who are experiencing more urgent, clinically documented symptoms and changes. Dr. Schneiders is board certified in two sub-specialties: both in Neuropsychology (brain disorders) and also in Clinical Health Psychology (medical and general health conditions). As such, he typically performs much more in-depth initial neurobehavioral clinical examinations in addition to the formal testing with patients.
At this time, after carefully reviewing a referring doctor’s clinical notes, imaging study reports, etc., Dr. Schneiders may be able to schedule for certain patients, a comprehensive neurobehavioral examination separate from the formal testing session, in some cases months before the longer testing appointment can be arranged. Not all patients will medically be in need of separate, earlier examination appointments, but we will do our best to schedule those persons with the most pressing and appropriate clinical needs as early as we can using this approach.
All patients will be considered for a cancellation list as in the past, of course, which also may result in earlier examinations than can be initially scheduled. We want to assure you that we very much appreciate the frustration you may feel about getting in to see a neuropsychology doctor as soon as possible, and will do all we can to make that happen if we can, given the very significant scheduling problems Covid-19 has unfortunately imposed on us all.
If you are a new patient not limited by medical and health risk reasons, we will be very pleased at this time to set an appointment up for you. Telehealth appointments are also available under some circumstances for parts of the examination process.
We ask that you please observe the following:
You should not come in for an evaluation at this time if you
1) have had a positive Covid-19 test within the last 10 days
2) have a fever over 99 degrees,
3) have started sneezing recently (except from allergies)
4) if you have a new and/or productive cough,
5) are unusually short of breath (for example, walking down a hall) in a way different from your usual state,
6) are unvaccinated and know or think you have recently been in contact with someone who has symptoms of,
or who has tested positive for, corona virus infection and has not yet tested negative,
If you are unsure about whether to come in for a neuropsychological consultation and/or exam, please call our office and/or consult with your primary care or referring physician as to whether your evaluation is presently recommended.
Finally, for reasons of space and comfort, we ask that patients come in with no more than two family members or close friends/caregivers unless special arrangements have been made with Rhea in advance.
CARE FOLLOWING YOUR EVALUATION
- Unlike many neuropsychologists practicing today, Dr. Schneiders feels simply reporting on a patient's neurocognitive or neuropsychological status is very often not sufficient care when people are faced with conditions that sometimes significantly and painfully affect their lives, their functioning, and their families. He sees his role as 1) Assessing a patient's brain function and making any appropriate clinical, neuropsychological diagnoses, 2) Seeing what lifestyle, health and/or clinical factors might be "tuned up" to improve cognitive and psychological function regardless of the primary diagnosis, and 3) Looking for ways to reduce risk factors which are present that might lead to serious health problems or cognitive disorders and decline in the future. For that reason, in addition to consultations and cognitive examinations, he is committed to offering on-going clinical and supportive care over time to his patients who wish and need it when appropriate.
DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION SURGERY PRE-OPERATIVE EVALUATIONS
For nearly two decades, Dr. Schneiders' practice has included evaluating patients in the process of considering Deep Brain Stimulation neurosurgery (DBS) for conditions such as medically refractory Parkinson's disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia.
EPILEPSY SURGERY EVALUATIONS
Beginning in 1992, Dr. Schneiders has evaluated patients who require pre-operative examinations to help determine operative safety, risk/benefit estimation, and neurosurgical/neuropsychological needs as well as their appropriateness for seizure surgery. He also spent more than 15 years in the operating room, mapping patients' brains while they were awake for their neurosurgical operations to ensure optimal outcomes in terms of speech, language and memory function following their resections.
PRACTICE LIMITATIONS
Dr. Schneiders' practice does not involve work with patients who have cognitive or other changes that have resulted directly or primarily from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), patients under the age of 18 years of age, patients with psychiatric emergencies (i.e., acutely suicidal or psychotic individuals), general psychotherapy patients, or persons who wish basic learning disability evaluations for school or education purposes only. He does not do forensic work (e.g., pure disability evaluations (i.e., examinations not for the purposes of clinical care), IMEs, legal competency evaluations, or court-ordered (e.g., custody) evaluations. Please ask if you are uncertain about your own situation or that of your family member.
Please note that I practice neuropsychology, not neurology, medicine, general clinical psychology, or psychiatry.
PSYCHOTHERAPY & COUNSELING
While I no longer can provide general psychotherapy outside the realm of neurological and medical conditions, patients commonly ask me about obtaining such care. In that spirit, I am pleased to offer them my thoughts on that kind of clinical work and what I think important to know, and to ask potential psychotherapists when engaging in such treatment:
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