Profession of neuropsychology in Latin America

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze characteristics of individuals working in the profession of neuropsychology in Latin America in order to understand their background, professional training, current work situation, assessment and diagnostic procedures used, rehabilitation techniques employed, population targeted, teaching responsibilities, and research activities. A total of 808 professionals working in neuropsychology from 17 countries in Latin America completed an online survey between July 2013 and January 2014. The majority of participants were female and the mean age was 36.76 years (range 21-74 years). The majority of professionals working in neuropsychology in Latin America have a background in psychology, with some additional specialized training and supervised clinical practice. Over half work in private practice, universities, or private clinics and are quite satisfied with their work. Those who identify themselves as clinicians primarily work with individuals with learning problems, ADHD, mental retardation, TBI, dementia, and stroke. The majority respondents cite the top barrier in the use of neuropsychological instruments to be the lack of normative data for their countries. The top perceived barriers to the field include: lack of academic training programs, lack of clinical training opportunities, lack of willingness to collaborate between professionals, and lack of access to neuropsychological instruments. There is a need in Latin America to increase regulation, improve graduate curriculums, enhance existing clinical training, develop professional certification programs, validate existing neuropsychological tests, and create new, culturally-relevant instruments.

Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure – copy and immediate recall (3 minutes): Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric populations

“…In Latin American countries and in Spain, this test is among the 10 most utilized neuropsychological tests by clinical neuropsychologists during their professional practice (Arango-Lasprilla, Stevens, Morlett-Paredes, Ardila, & Rivera, 2016;Olabarrieta-Landa et al, 2016). However, in spite of its great use, there are currently very few studies on validation and standardization of this test for Spanishspeakers.…”

Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (M-WCST): Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

“…In Latin America and Spain, the WCST is considered one of the 10 most commonly used neuropsychological tests within clinical practice (Arango-Lasprilla, Stevens, Morlett Paredes, Ardila, & Rivera, 2016;Olabarrieta-Landa et al, 2016). The modified version (M-WCST) may be a more suitable version for use with children and adolescents when compared to the classic WCST as the M-WCST is simpler, less stressful, requires less time for administration, and reduces the risk of the child refusing to perform the task (Cianchetti et al, 2007).…”

Shortened Version of the Token Test: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population

“…Indeed, across multiple studies describing the state of neuropsychology in different countries, the Token Test is one of the 20 most utilized neuropsychological tests by professionals in Spain (Olabarrieta-Landa, et al, 2016), Colombia , Mexico (Fonseca-Aguilar et al, 2015), Argentina (Fernandez, Ferreres, Morlett-Paredes, Rivera, & ArangoLasprilla, 2016), and other Latin American countries (Arango-Lasprilla, Stevens, Morlett-Paredes, Ardila, & Rivera, 2016). This widespread acceptance may be due to its simplicity, easy administration, and free access.…”