Cognitive Testing

Cognitive testing is important in determining a person’s ability to use and retain information. It is also effective in gauging your brain’s capacity to function efficiently. Its importance lies in the fact that drugs and alcohol, and their abuse, can negatively affect cognitive function in patients.

The cognitive abilities of a person will be affected adversely she is abusing or addicted to drugs or alcohol. Therefore, if you or a member of your family is taking illicit drugs or abusing alcohol, cognitive testing may be the best course to assess the particular treatment needs present.

What Is Cognitive Testing?

This type of examination is also called psychometric or neurocognitive evaluation. It determines your brain’s capacity to work efficiently. By undergoing this examination, we will be able to know if you have any mental issues.

If you are abusing alcohol or taking prohibited drugs, you need to undergo this mental evaluation to determine if your mental capacity is being affected adversely.

Since its development about a hundred years ago, the “pencil and pen” tests have given way to modern computerized tests that started in the 1970s and further developed in the 1980s. Modern cognitive tests are more accurate which ensures a better assessment of the mental state of a patient.

“The first principle of cognitive therapy is that all your moods are created by your ‘cognitions,’ or thoughts. It includes the way you interpret things – what you say about something or someone to yourself.”
– David D. Burns
 

Primary Objective

 

New Creation Treatment, a holistic Christian rehab center that offers cognitive testing, aims to assess the mental health of a patient towards formulating the right mode of treatment that will facilitate her rehabilitation. In the area of drug and alcohol abuse, mental health professionals are searching for the cognitive, emotional and behavioral changes of a patient and the quality of his mental functions so that they can formulate the best treatment programs to help the patient recover her mental balance. This is known as cognitive rehabilitation and can be done in both inpatient and IOP programs. This testing is also covered by PPO insurance and HMO insurance.

Areas Involved in Cognitive Testing

In substance, a cognitive test is not considered a test of a person’s intelligence. It is not used to indicate the level of a person’s IQ. But it is simply a measure of a person’s three cognition abilities – attention, executive function and memory.

The cognitive regions that are examined in a cognitive test are the following:

  • Attention span
  • Judgment
  • Memory, recent and past
  • Physical appearance
  • Language
  • Basic information orientation
 
“A balanced diet and physical activity are vital to academic performance. A healthy diet has a direct link to increased cognitive function and memory skills, decreased absenteeism from school, and improved mood. These advantages can help students stay focused and complete their coursework.”
– Matt Cartwright
 

Why This Examination Is Important

If you want to gauge a person’s mental health, one of the best ways to do it is by cognitive testing. Without examining a drug addict’s cognitive functions, it would be difficult to formulate a drug rehab program that will be effective for the long term.

Treating the addiction by just curtailing the addict’s supply of illicit drugs will not solve her inner problems. The best way is to treat the inner cause of the problem first, and then use medicinal treatment and other forms of therapies based on the information gathered from the patient’s cognitive tests.

It is better to address the mental state of the patient before treating the effects on her physique.