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The extant literature on the status of neuropsychological testing practices largely ignores the myriad of survey-based findings of studies reported in allied professional psychology fields. To date, a systematic analysis of neuropsychological test usage across major mental health professions has not been conducted. To address this lapse in the research literature, the current study presents a summary analysis, based on an extensive literature review of published survey-based findings with regards to neuropsychological testing, that report on assessment and test usage patterns from 1990-2016. The 36 identified survey-based or records-based studies of practice settings served as the data pool in the current review. The analysis revealed that overall, 14 (39%) of the 36 surveys indicated 'high' levels of neuropsychological test usage. The predominant tests were Wechsler Scales, visual-motor tests, Wechsler Memory Scales, Halstead-Reitan Battery, Trail Making Tests, California Verbal Learning Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. This review supports that neuropsychological tests have been, and continue being emphasized in practice by clinical neuropsychologists, and relied on to a moderate degree by practicing clinical and forensic psychologists, but rather neglected by counseling and school psychologists, and professional counselors. Hence, to some extent, practitioners in allied fields, outside of the specialty of clinical neuropsychology, occasionally engage in neuropsychological assessment. In addition, these findings highlight the apparent dissonance between the practical value of neuropsychological testing evident in practice and the diminutive emphasis toward this assessment area in pre-internship training. Finally, this review revealed three neuropsychological areas of sparse research: a) the lack of cross-disciplinary collaboration in assessment, b) survey-based findings regarding neurological assessment of children, and c) studies on the scope of neuropsychological assessment, particularly in academic training, in countries outside the USA.
Keywords: Neuropsychological assessment, Test usage, Professional specialties, Practice settings
Prior to 1980, examination of survey-based data on test usage patterns of mental health settings attest to the popularity of cognitive, achievement, and visual-motor instruments like the Bender-Gestalt Test (Brown & McGuire, 1976; Lubin et al., 1971; Piotrowski, 1978; Sundberg, 1961). National surveys, during this time frame, found that practicing clinicians suggested required training for clinical students in several neuropsychological tests (e.g., Wade & Baker, 1977). In subsequent years, researchers began reporting survey data specifically on the assessment practices of neuropsychologists, reflecting practice data of...