The ClinicWe are excited to announce that Integra will be launching the Integra Psychoeducational Assessment Clinic in September 2010. Integra is the only accredited children’s mental health centre in Canada that is dedicated to serving children and youth with learning disabilities and co-occurring mental health challenges. Children and youth with learning disabilities are, by definition, smart and possess many strengths. Their success at school, home, and in the community, however, may be challenged by specific cognitive and processing weaknesses (e.g., memory, language, visual-spatial difficulties, executive functions/processes related to problem-solving). At Integra, we believe that understanding the specific areas of cognitive ability or processing that hinder a child or youth’s success and how multiple areas of cognitive or processing weakness interact are key to helping children and youth succeed. Illuminating a child or youth’s strengths is equally important. This integrated understanding of strengths and needs provides the basis for practical, individualized interventions that accommodate for areas of need while capitalizing on and further developing the strengths that the child or youth and those that work with them possess. Fostering and translating this understanding into meaningful interventions is the mission of Integra and is the foundation of the treatment, research and community education work we are committed to.
The Integra Psychoeducational Assessment Clinic will extend Integra’s work to the provision of high quality assessment and consultation services. Our assessments will aim to provide this integrated understanding of cognitive, processing, academic, and social emotional strengths and needs and will provide practical recommendations to improve the well-being of the child or youth (aged 6-18) at home, school, and in the community. The clinic will specialize in assessment and consultation for the following areas:
Dr. Karen Milligan, Director of Research and Psychology, will serve as the interim Director of the clinic during its development and will supervise all assessments completed, including meeting with children and their families. Karen is a registered psychologist who has been involved in assessment, treatment, and research work with children and youth with learning disabilities, emotion regulation challenges, and processing difficulties. She will be assisted by the Integra Psychology team, which includes Dr. Lesley Daniels, registered psychologist with a special interest in ADHD and Learning Disabilities. Assessment and consultation services will be provided on a reasonable fee-for-service basis. All proceeds will be directed to the high quality and innovative treatment, research, and community education work currently completed by Integra. We will begin accepting referrals for assessment and consultation beginning September 1, 2010. We will continually update our website over the summer months with more information about the Integra Psychoeducational Assessment Clinic as it becomes available. We look forward to having the chance to work with you, your child, and children and youth with whom you work and to hearing from you when our clinic opens this September.
Sincerely, |
