Clinical Psychology (PsyD) Neuropsychology Emphasis

The goal of the Neuropsychology Emphasis in the PsyD Program is to provide students with graduate training in neuropsychology that serves as the foundation for internship and post-doctoral training leading to Board Certification in Clinical Neuropsychology. The emphasis is based on the Houston Conference Guidelines for graduate training in neuropsychology. All Neuropsychology Emphasis students have obtained APA approved internships, 95% in either medical schools, VA medical centers, or other large medical centers. The emphasis consists of three principle components: curriculum, clinical training, and research.

Faculty

Michael Daniel, PhD - Director

Eliezer Schwartz, PhD

Faculty areas of clinical and research interest include:

neuropsychological evaluation
mild traumatic brain injury/sports concussion
dementia
forensic evaluation
ethnopsychopharmacology

Curriculum

In addition to the regularly required courses within the general SGP curriculum, the following emphasis-specific courses are required (for full course descriptions see academic catalog):

Neuropsychological Assessment + Lab
Neuropsychology of Neurological Conditions
Neuropsychology of Psychiatric & Medical Conditions
Neuropsychology Seminar

Clinical Training

Graduate School Second Year

Neuropsychology Assessment Practicum
In their second year in the program, students complete a Neuropsychology Assessment Practicum on the Neuropsychology Assessment Team in the Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics (our in-house training clinics located in Hillsboro and Portland). Students receive supervision from a Neuropsychology Emphasis faculty member.

Practicum I
Students complete Practicum I training experience conducting intake psychological assessments and psychotherapy, also during their second year in the program. This training also takes place at the Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics where students work with adult clients.

Graduate School Third and Fourth Years

Advanced Neuropsychology Practicum
Neuropsychology Emphasis students complete advanced neuropsychological practicums at a community training site their third and fourth years in the program. Current community sites include:

Oregon Health and Sciences University: Neurology Dept. and Psychiatry Dept.
Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center
Good Samaritan Hospital Neurology
Kaiser Medical Center: multiple sites

Practicum II and Advanced Practicum
Students complete Practicum II training experience during their third year in the program at a community training site where they gain experience in treatment with adult populations. There is an option to also do an Advanced Practicum in treatment in the fourth year.

Internship
During their fifth year in the program, Neuropsychology Emphasis students complete Internship. This requires a national application process through the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Students should expect to relocate during this year, as competitive neuropsychology sites are located all across the country. Sites are listed in the APPIC directory.

Research
Students complete empirical doctoral research projects that involve collecting original data or using archival data for analysis. Research work formally begins in the summer of the second year of training and must be completed by the time the student starts Internship. The doctoral research project must focus on a topic related to neuropsychology.

Recent Neuropsychology Emphasis Student Awards

Melissa Rindge: American Psychological Association 2017 Annual Convention. Psychological Assessment Young Scholars Award for: Test-Retest Reliability and False Positive Rate of Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT).
Amy Werry: National Academy of Neuropsychology 2017 Annual Convention. Ted Blau Student Poster Award for: Normal Neuropsychological Test Performance for Spanish Speaking Hispanic and Matched White Older Adults.

Recent Neuropsychology Emphasis Student Research

Anderson, S. & Daniel, M. (2018, February). Depression’s influence on cognitive functioning in older adults who develop Alzheimers. Poster presented at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Washington DC.
Chan, S., Daniel, M., Dennison, K. & Conley, J. (2018, February). Does statin use mitigate risk of conversion to Alzheimer’s disease (AD)? The association between statin use and incidence of AD by gender and race. Poster presented at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Washington DC.
Yesian, R., Daniel, M., Watson, E. & Michael, P. (2018, February). Third party observers and the California Verbal Learning Test-2: A preliminary analysis. Poster presented at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Washington DC.
Rindge, M., Moncrief, G. & Daniel, M. (2018, February). Neuropsychological and psychological predictors of conversion from mild cognitive impairment to alzheimer's dementia confirmed by autopsy: A pilot study. Poster presented at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Washington DC.
Werry, A. & Daniel, M. (2018, February). Influence of demographic variables on measures of attention and working memory for Spanish speaking Hispanic and matched white older adults. Poster presented at the 46th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Washington DC.
Riberdy, C., Rindge, M., Daniel, M. & Pitkanen, E. (2018, June). Test-retest reliability of the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test with a two-factor theory. Poster presented at the 16th annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, San Diego.
Chan, S., Dennison, K. & Daniel, M. (2018, June). The association between lithium and neuropsychological performance in the uniform data set: A propensity score matching approach. Poster presented at the 16th annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, San Diego.
Riberdy, C., Rindge, M., Daniel, M. & Pitkanen, E. (2018, October). Retest reliability of the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test using a two-factor theory with various interval schedules. Paper presented at the 38th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, New Orleans.
Werry, A. & Daniel, M. (2018, October). Influence of demographic variables on normal neuropsychological test performance in English speaking Hispanic and matched white older adults. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, New Orleans.
Werry, A. & Daniel, M. (2018, October). Influence of demographic variables on measures of memory and language for Spanish speaking Hispanic and matched white older adults. Poster presented at the 38th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, New Orleans.
Slater, L., Daniel, M. & Hildebrand, P. (2019, June). Base rate accuracy of Flynn effect correction. Poster presented at the 17th annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, Chicago.
Slater, L. & Daniel, M. (2019, November). Flynn effect correction: accuracy base rate for IQ/ability level. Poster presented at the 39th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, San Diego.
Paredes, J., Prince, T., Simpson, A. & Daniel, M. (2020, October). MRI and neuropsychological change during conversion from normal/MCI to Alzheimer’s disease. Poster presented at the virtual 40th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
Paredes, J. & Daniel, M. (2021, February). Neuropsychological performance and MRI white-matter hyperintensities in a clinical sample. Poster presented at the virtual 49th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society.
Courtwright, K., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. G. (August, 2021). Correlations between neuropsychological test performance and the Personality Assessment Inventory. Poster presented at the virtual 129th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Paredes, J. & Daniel, M. (2022, October). MRI white-matter hyperintensities and Neuropsychological performance in a young adult clinical sample. Poster presented at the 42nd annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Denver, CO.
Smith, C. R., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. G. (2022, October). Cognitive predictors of verbal memory test performance. Poster presented at the 42nd annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Denver, CO.
Meyer, C., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2022, October). Can embedded performance validity measures predict performance on a stand-alone test? Poster presented at the 42nd annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Denver, CO.
Courtwright, K., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2023, February). Pairwise concurrence rates between standalone and embedded performance validity tests. Poster presented at the 51st annual meeting of the International Neuropsychology Society Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Rallison, D. Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2024, February). Physical activity, computer use, apoe genotype and risk of cognitive impairment. Poster presented at the 52nd annual meeting of the International Neuropsychology Society, New York, NY.
Smith, C., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2024, February). Demographic and cognitive predictors of visual-graphic memory test performance. Poster presented at the 52nd annual meeting of International Neuropsychological Society, New York, NY.
Sylvester, D., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2025, June). Profiles of functional decline associated with early stage neurodegenerative disease. Poster presented at the 23rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, Chicago, IL.
Engel, D., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2025, November). What does Visual Puzzles measure? A factory analysis. Poster presented at the 45th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Los Angeles, CA.
Senderling, S., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2025, November). Performance validity test base rates for litigant and non-litigant patients. Poster presented at the 45th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Los Angeles, CA.
Lee, L., Fiore, E., Daniel, M., Michael, P. & Callahan, M. (2025, November). Risk factors for depression following mild traumatic brain injury in veterans. Poster presented at the 45th annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Los Angeles, CA.
Wheaton, V., Lee, L., Fiore, E., & Daniel, M. (2026, February). Neuropsychological effects of TASER exposure. Poster presented at the 54th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Mahabaleshwarkar, S., Basson, T., Garaland, K. & Daniel, M. (2026, February). Neuropsychological and psychological functioning in a rare case of 3q29 deletion. Poster presented at the 54th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Wallace, E., Daniel, M. & Michael, P. (2026, February). Executive dysfunction in adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Poster presented at the 54th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Fiore, E., Lee, L., Daniel, M., Michael, P., & Callahan., M. (2026, February). Performance and symptom validity test concordance rates in veterans. Poster presented at the 54th annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Philadelphia, PA.

Resources

American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology
American Psychological Association Division 40: Society for Clinical Neuropsychology
National Academy of Neuropsychology