Successful Private Practice in Neuropsychology and Neuro-Rehabilitation

Dr. Mary Pepping is a board certified neuropsychologist with 33 years of experience evaluating and treating working-age people and older adolescents with various forms of acquired brain injury. These include people with traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, stroke, multiple sclerosis, anoxic injuries, residual effects of neurological conditions such as meningitis, encephalitis, Huntington Disease, early-onset Parkinson disease, lupus, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and various forms of dementia. Dr. Pepping has long-standing involvement in neuro-rehabilitation of these populations of individuals. This includes an emphasis on detailed neuropsychological evaluations as a foundation for treatment, cognitive rehabilitation and psychotherapy in a milieu model context, and the role and functions of interdisciplinary teams to achieve good outcomes.With her PhD in Clinical Psychology completed 1981 from Washington State University she went on to a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. After fellowship she spent six years in the Section of Neuropsychology, Department of Neurosurgery, at HCA Presbyterian Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK, directing the milieu-based treatment program there in her final two years. This was followed by a return to Seattle to work for five years in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Virginia Mason Medical Center, continuing with evaluation, treatment and clinical research.After a subsequent six years in private practice, Dr. Pepping was recruited by the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center to serve for 14 years as Director of their Neuropsychology Service and outpatient interdisciplinary Neuro-Rehabilitation Program. Her years at the University of Washington School of Medicine gave her additional opportunities to provide teaching and training to interns, residents, fellows and practicum students from a range of disciplines, as well as shared research and scholarly writing projects with interdisciplinary colleagues. These fields included clinical psychology, neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry, speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vocational rehabilitation and cognitive neurosciences.With retirement from direct clinical practice in July 2013, Dr. Pepping shifted to Professor Emeritus within her department to create more time for scholarly writing, research and a return to a private consultation practice.

"This book is a highly readable, honest and comprehensive appraisal of institutional-based practice vs. private practice for clinical neuropsychologists. It is packed with practical information by someone with extensive experience in both settings who has gathered everything necessary to succeed. Dr. Pepping’s wisdom and humanity ensure that neuropsychologists (and their patients, colleagues and families) will benefit from her recipe for a happy, productive and balanced professional life. This is a must read for early career neuropsychologists but offers neuropsychologists at any stage of their career a blueprint for making the most of their individual talents and interests in a demanding and evolving profession." --Anne Newman, Ph.D., ABPP"Like the 1st Edition, the 2nd Edition of "Successful Private Practice in Neuropsychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Model" by Mary Pepping focuses upon neuropsychology in the private practice setting. However, its expanded focus on institutional work and neuro-rehabilitation domains makes it worthwhile reading for neuropsychologists who practice in a number of different work settings. Graduate students, early-career professionals, and clinician-scientists who have worked as neuropsychologists for many, many years will find useful information in this text which will help them to maintain a high-level of assessment and treatment skills. With some of Dr. Pepping’s valuable insights arising from her years of experience working in private practice and institutional settings, the reader can work toward becoming "a good enough" neuropsychologist and find that a sufficiently meaningful, satisfying, and renumerative goal. Indeed, like no other text which I have read, this book can assist in helping one in their efforts to achieve a healthy balance between one’s career and other important aspects of their life." --Robert L. Heilbronner, Ph.D., ABPP-CN

• ForewordPreface1 THE CHALLENGES OF PRACTICE: OVERVIEW OF KEY ISSUES AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS2 OTHER POTENTIAL INDIGNITIES3 THE GOOD NEWS4 GETTING STARTED: PRACTICAL PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS5 A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR OPENING YOUR BUSINESS6 MARKETING AND OTHER MATTERS7 CREATIVE APPROACHES TO FINANCIAL ISSUES8 MEDICAL-LEGAL WORK9 CONSULTATION AND SUPERVISION PRACTICE10 PSYCHOMETRIC CONCERNS11 TREATMENT PRACTICES FOR NEUROPSYCHOLOGISTS12 NUTS AND BOLTS OF YOUR EVALUATION PRACTICE13 NEURO-REHABILITATION PROGRAM TREATMENT: PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS14 HOW TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A COGNITIVE GROUP15 THE VALUE AND USE OF THE MMPI IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICE16 DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING A CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY FELLOWSHIP17 RESEARCH AS A DAILY REALITY18 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSAppendices