Application of the Neuroaffective Assessment
a conversation with Dr Susan Hart
Plan for emotional development in children, adolescents and adults
Dr Susan Hart and Marianne Bentzon, MPF, Denmark, are the creators of a unique and innovative assessment tool, measuring competencies and deficits at autonomic, limbic and prefrontal brain levels. This dynamic assessment tool pinpoints where a competency is undeveloped or unavailable, available to some degree with support, or is a fully developed resource.
There are very few assessment methods capable of measuring emotional skills from a developmental perspective. The developmental perspective is crucial, because emotional skills develop according to the same principle as cognitive skills. First, we acquire the basic skills, which are then gradually developed further and refined in our many interactions with the world around us.
Neuroaffective Assessment (NAA) is a systematic assessment method developed on the basis of NeuroAffective Developmental Psychology (NADP). It is designed for use in assessing the emotional skills of children, young people or adults from a developmental perspective and forms a basis for an intervention plan that both meets the person’s current skill level and supports the person’s diverse needs for developing emotional resources and stabilizing imbalances.
Identifying client's competency at each level of the brain, allows therapy to target areas of developmental need, and ensure therapy is within the client’s capacities. Periodic assessment guides the course of therapy, providing real-time feedback about challenges and successes.
In this conversation with Dr Hart, she will explain how the Neuroaffective Developmental Assessment works, outline the three levels of competencies and share examples about tailoring therapeutic strategies for adults and children.
A short video clip will demonstrate the assessment process, accompanied by an overview of the questions that explore competencies at each level of the brain.
Learning objectives
Participants will be able to:
Explain what, and how, the Neuroaffective Developmental Assessment measures client competencies.
Identify competencies of the autonomic, limbic and prefrontal brain systems.
Distinguish appropriate interventions for each brain system.
Formulate therapy goals through assessment of the client’s capacities.
