Neuropsychology Central

[dmlevy]

Which offers the better training of the two options? Cognitive Neuropsych Programs or Clinical Neuropsych?

[lash]

Well, if you're interested in cognitive neuropsychology, then the cognitive neuropsych program is better. If you're interested in clinical, then the clinical program is better. I'm not being flippant; they're two different fields. It's like asking whether medical school or law school offers better training.

The way I initially learned to think about it (which isn't actually entirely accurate, but it's close enough for beginners) is that cognitive neuropsych looks at the disordered brain and uses that information to learn about how the normal brain works, while clinical neuropsych uses normal brains for comparison in order to figure out what's wrong with a disordered brain. Cognitive neuropsych has also been moving toward more computer modeling of areas like neural networks and linguistics, while clinical neuropsych also incorporates things like rehabilitation. You should read more on cognitive neuropsych if that's a possible field for you. I'm not up to speed on the field, so I can't make specific recommendations, but an internet search should suffice. If you get really really into it, and start looking for whole books, I'll recommend the textbook by Drs. Brenda Rapp and Argye Hillis, which has the potential to become the bible of cognitive neuropsych. This site has more clinical links, so I'll refer you to the links section here for more info on clinical neuropsych and book recommendations. Good luck.
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Lee Ashendorf, Ph.D.
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA
Co-Webmaster, Neuropsychology Central