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Psychological Assessment Center
 

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http://www.aubmc.org.lb/clinical/Psychiatry/Pages/main/Psychological-Assessment-Center.aspx


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Psychological Assessment Center (PAC)

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​​​​​​​​CLINICAL SERVICES

 
The Psychological Assessment Center provides a wide range of evaluations and treatment services serving individuals from infancy to elderly. All services are applied using best practice guidelines and professional expertise to ensure the best understanding of a person’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning and help the patient improve up to his/her potential.

1- Assessment:
 
- Full cognitive assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders for toddlers and children:
This assessment covers all main cognitive and learning areas, such as general intellectual abilities, oral and written language, visuospatial and visuomotor abilities, attention, executive functions, learning, and memory. It allows ruling out any neurodevelopmental disorder, identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses, and recommending specific accommodations/interventions to help patients overcome their daily difficulties in or outside the school setting.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess intellectual disability or global developmental delay:
This is a short assessment that aims at exploring the general intellectual profile and the adaptive skills (independence in daily life) of young patients, as well as at providing evidence on what areas need to be targeted in their Individualized Educational Plan.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess communication disorders (e.g., Speech Disorder, Language Disorder, etc.):
Communication disorders can stem from several conditions or co-occur with cognitive difficulties. This assessment aims at quantifying communication disorders, but also at ruling out any comorbid conditions.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Our team members are trained and certified to administer specific diagnostic interviews and tests that will help confirm or rule out Autism Spectrum Disorder. 
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess Specific Learning Disorders (e.g., Dyslexia, etc.):
Specific Learning Disorders are common in school-aged patients. This assessment will help identify children with a Specific Learning Disorder, rule out co-occurring disorders, and help identify educational targets to include in the Individualized Education Program based on the young patient’s strengths and weaknesses.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess attention and behavioral regulation disorders (e.g., Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder AD/HD):
Several factors can alter attention and behavior. This assessment explores specific aspects of attention to rule out AD/HD and provide relevant recommendations.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess motor disorders (e.g., Developmental Coordination Disorder, etc.):
Motor disorders can affect a patient’s gross and fine motor movements. In daily life, this can prevent a patient from performing typically in sports or even in any task that requires precision such as writing. This assessment will help identify children with motor disorders and rule out any co-occurring disorder.
 
- Evaluation of students who would benefit from accommodations on national and/or international examinations (e.g., Brevet, BAC, IB, SATs, GRE…):
Students sitting for exams are frequently entitled to different accommodations when they present with specific impairments. This assessment allows us to determine needed accommodations, based on objective and subjective measures.
 
- Dynamic assessment:
The Dynamic Assessment is conducted to identify the skills that students possess as well as their learning potential. It is an interactive, process-oriented, and fluid approach in which students play an active role.
 
- Cognitive abilities profile (CAP):
The CAP is designed for consultation and observation of the cognitive functioning of a learner, that is, the thinking process involved in a variety of learning and problem-solving activities. The CAP is designed to help identify how learners are able or less able to use their cognitive abilities, in order to inform intervention, which can lead to improvements in functioning.
 
- Functional behavioral assessment (FBA)
FBA is a process to understand the purpose of a child’s disruptive behavior and what factors are maintaining this behavior that is interfering with his/her educational progress or activities of daily living. This assessment leads to the development of intervention plans to teach acceptable alternative behaviors.
 
- Diagnostic evaluation to assess dementia and memory decline (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease):
Every person is at risk of experiencing cognitive decline due to age or to different progressing brain diseases. This assessment allows us to measure through tests different cognitive abilities such as memory, executive skills, language or visuospatial skills, in order to help diagnose conditions and improve the specificity of treatment.
 
- Pre-surgical assessment for lateralization in epilepsy:
This is a specific assessment usually done before surgical interventions in epilepsy. It helps in the surgical decision, as well as in determining possible functional outcomes following surgery.
 
- Full cognitive profile assessment following acquired brain injuries or neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral vascular accident, Parkinson’s Disease, cancer, etc.):
Brain lesions can alter cognition differently depending on their origin. This assessment allows for exploring all cognitive aspects that are known to decline in certain medical condition, which will help better manage the patient’s cognitive difficulties.
 
- Personality assessment for adult patients:
Exploring personality traits can be done through a clinical interview and asking the patient to complete specific scales and questionnaires. This assessment can help other clinicians better understand the profile of their patients and better choose the appropriate treatment and therapy approaches.

During the first visit, the clinician will meet with the patient and/or parents/legal guardians to obtain a full understanding of the patient’s medical, social, and psychological history including his/her current concerns, and clarify the objectives of the assessment.
During the second visit, the clinician will carry out the assessment with the patient. The formal assessment includes using specific tests, ranging from cognitive tests (ex: tests assessing aspects of attention, intelligence/IQ, memory, academic achievement) to personality scales (ex: MMPI) or mood and anxiety scales. The assessment also includes observing the patient’s behavior over several hours, consulting with the patient’s therapists, teachers and physicians, and reviewing medical and educational records. The clinician then provides the patient with diagnoses, if any, as well as a profile of cognitive strengths and weaknesses in areas such as reasoning and intelligence, language, visuospatial/motor, attention, executive functioning, behavior, psychological/emotional status, and/or academic functioning. The clinician will also provide evidence-based recommendations. A follow-up with the school team, therapists, or the treating physician can also be done upon request.


2- Therapy:
 
- Cognitive rehabilitation for teenagers and adults (CCRP):
This therapy can be implemented with patients showing cognitive impairments due to brain injuries (e.g., concussions, strokes), psychiatric disorders (e.g., Psychosis) or dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease).

- Cognitive behavioral therapy for Insomnia:
This is an evidence-based manualized short therapy that helps patients with neurological disorders regulate and improve their sleep.

 
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for emotional and behavioral regulation:
This is a short intervention that helps patients suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury, Dementia or other neurological conditions better manage their behaviors and emotions.

​
CONSULTATIONS: in person and online

We are available for consultations in person and on-line, and ready to answer specific questions concerning you or your loved ones.

 
- Clinical consultations:
At PAC, we are a team of highly trained and experienced professionals, with several years of clinical practice in different settings. We are available for consultations and ready to answer specific questions concerning you or your loved ones.
 
- Educational consultations:
The educational specialists in the team offer educational consultations related to school placement, evidence based educational interventions, and treatment decisions. Educational consultations can be offered in the clinical setting or school setting in collaboration with the patient’s parents and schools.


TRAINING: in person and online

One of the PAC’s mission is to provide training and supervision for licensed psychologists. This can be done through the department’s training institute, or through on-line support.
(please refer to MHTI for any trainings)
​
RESEARCH:

The PAC Research Lab is dedicated to research relevant to our local context and needs. Clinical research emphasizing on children, adults, or elderlies is conducted to improve our understanding of brain-behavior relationships and normal/abnormal cognitive and behavioral functioning. Clinical research relevant to our context includes, for example, developing culturally appropriate tests to assess cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in different age groups.
 

To know more about the center, check out the:

- Fact sheets inEnglish or Arabic
- Follow us on Facebook
 
For appointments, please call 961 1 759620-622 or email on pac1@aub.edu.lb ​.
The PAC is located at the American University of Beirut – Medical Center (AUBMC), Academic and Clinical Center (ACC), Department of Psychiatry, 4th floor.
For volunteering or Internship opportunities, send your resume (as pdf) and letter of intent to pac1@aub.edu.lb

​​

Full Time Clinicians:
 
​​​
​
Marc Barakat, PhD
Director
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Clinical Neuropsychologist
​
Cynthia Roukoz, MA/MSc
Clinical Psychologist
Clinical Neuropsychologist
​
Rasha Mashmoushi, DEd Psy
Educational Psychologist
​
 
 
Part-time Clinicians:
 
​​
Rama Kanj, MA, TD, ABSNP​
Educational Psychologist
Special Educator​
​

​ Administrative Support

​​​

Hussein Ismail, BA
PAC Assistant
​
 
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