Psychological Software Services

A division of the Neuroscience Center of Indianapolis

Psychological Software Services (PSS) was incorporated in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1982 by Dr. Odie Bracy, neuropsychologist. It is a division of and located at the Neuroscience Center of Indianapolis (NSC). Clinical services at NSC include diagnostic and therapeutic treatment programs for individuals who are experiencing brain injury, stroke, learning/developmental disabilities, attention deficit disorders or other neurological based anomalies.

 

The purpose of the cognitive rehabilitation therapy offered at the NeuroScience Center is to help an individual acquire the highest level of cognitive functioning and functional independence possible for that individual. This is accomplished through treatment programs utilizing retraining strategies, teaching the use of compensatory skills (for areas not amenable to retraining), counseling, environmental restructuring, utilizing the services of educational and vocational training facilities and following our patients as they go into their next placement, be it work, school or just better living at home. Our work with the patient centers around that person's thinking skills, perception, memory, problem solving and decision making skills. We have succeeded in producing statistically significant improvements in psychometrically measured indices of cognitive functioning; however, it is our goal that these changes result in significant improvement in functioning and meaningful participation in daily life events. PSSCogRehab, Neuropsychonline and Challenging Our Minds form the core of our cognitive rehabilitation activities.

 

Our therapy program is set up as a combination clinic and homebased, outpatient computer assisted rehabilitation program. The patient is seen at our center for 1 one-hour visit each week. During this intensive, interactive session, we evaluate the patient on all therapy exercises prescribed at the last session, troubleshoot cognitive strategies and performance difficulties, re-evaluate our treatment plan and prescribe the therapy exercise assignments for the upcoming week. We discuss compensation skills, strategy development and deployment and how all of what is learned in therapy can be used in daily life activities. The patient then performs the therapy exercises at home, on their own computer, for at least 1 to 3 one-hour periods each and every day between the weekly sessions at the center, incorporating and practicing the compensation skills and strategies discussed during the face-to-face session. The whole program, as we administer it, typically takes the patient about 6 to 12 months to complete, depending upon their level of impairment and commitment to the program.

 

Therapy utilizing our cognitive rehabilitation systems and conducted in the manner described above would be in compliance with the multimodal model of cognitive rehabilitation therapy (page 1607) as per Cicerone's, Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation: Recommendations for Clinical Practice (Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 81(12), 1596-1615). The Chen et.al. (1997) research article referenced on page 1607 was conducted at our center utilizing our software applications.