PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL

ASSESSMENT GRAND

ROUNDS SERIES

RECORDING

Presenter: Linda Walker, MHR, LPC
APA Continuing Education (CE)
Credits granted: 3 (upon completion of an online exam)

The psychophysiological stress profile assessment is a cornerstone for evaluating your client's psychophysiological health and reactions to stressful events. Performing a stress assessment is often straight forward, however the BFE often receives requests for help from clinician when it comes to the interpretation of the results of the psychophysiological assessment. Common questions include, although are not limited to, "what does an acceptable profile look like", "how can I tell if a modality is worth self-regulation training?" and “where do I start to get the ‘big-picture’?”

This grand rounds series recording led, by Linda Walker, guides clinicians on the interpretation of psychophysiological assessment profiles based on the measurements of heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, skin temperature, skin conductance and muscle tension. The three sessions are as follows:

Session 1: Building the strategy for interpreting the recorded data from two psychophysiological stress assessment profiles. The two cases are as follows: a high-performing individual in the field of business/technology that can be extremely difficult on themselves for perceived failures; and an anxious individual that suffers from headaches.

Session 2: Comparison of two profiles, belonging both to very physically active individuals, that both believe themselves to be very healthy: an athlete in his 20s vs an older individual who’s psychophysiological profile suggests patterns and a poor stress response.

Session 3: Discussion of interpreting a pre-made psychophysiological report, along with how to generate your own report that you give to the client. This session does touch on examining EEG data gathered from a psychophysiological profile, from a university-level basketball players that suffers from ADHD. This session does make use of the assessment and report from the BFE’s Optimizing Performance & Health Suite.

Note: All views expressed in the sessions are solely those of the presenter and not those of the BFE.