PHQ-9 (Patient Healthcare Questionnaire 9)
PHQ-9 (or Patient Healthcare Questionnaire 9) is one of the most common tools used to assess Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), a treatable mental illness seen in private practice. The National ...
Rx Speech and Language Therapy
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most common psychological tests administered. It provides a myriad of information from a clinical standpoint and is also used in ...
What is a niche?
So, you’ve decided to become a private practice therapist. But where to begin? How best to connect to the right client? The process of growing into successful mental health, occupational, physical, ...
Projective Tests
Projective tests involve a client projecting themselves onto an ambiguous object such as a drawing or image. Where intellectual and objective personality tests have questions and specific answers ...
Modifier 59
Modifier 59 is one of several codes used for physical therapy billing. Billing and coding are a necessary part of nearly every therapy practice. Unless you work for an exclusively cash-pay practice, ...
N Words
The /n/ sound or /n/ words are not words we’d expect a 2-year-old child to perfectly articulate.It’s typical for some children to have trouble producing certain sounds. But according to ...
What Are BIRP Notes?
BIRP notes … Let’s face it, no therapist likes writing progress notes. But it is also one of the most important acts that a clinician does. Clinical notes act as a guide for treatment and evidence ...
N Words
It’s typical for some children to have trouble producing certain sounds. But according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), one sound that a child should be able to articulate ...
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but it also can sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high-pitched or low-pitched. You might hear it in ...
Meaning of Pendred Syndrome
Pendred syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes early hearing loss in children. It also can affect the thyroid gland and sometimes creates problems with balance. The syndrome is named after ...
Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are a new category of hearing aids that consumers can buy directly, without visiting a hearing health professional. These devices are intended to help adults with ...
Otosclerosis
Otosclerosis is a term derived from oto, meaning “of the ear,” and sclerosis, meaning “abnormal hardening of body tissue.” The condition is caused by abnormal bone remodeling in the middle ear. Bone ...
Vestibular Schwannoma
A vestibular schwannoma (also known as acoustic neuroma, acoustic neurinoma, or acoustic neurilemoma) is a benign, usually slow-growing tumor that develops from the balance and hearing nerves ...
Meniere’s Disease
Ménière’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe dizziness (vertigo), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear. Ménière’s ...
Spasmodic Dysphonia, or Laryngeal Dystonia
Spasmodic dysphonia, or laryngeal dystonia, is a disorder affecting the voice muscles in the larynx, also called the voice box. When you speak, air from your lungs is pushed between two elastic ...
Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a disease in which benign (noncancerous) tumors called papillomas to grow in the air passages leading from the nose and mouth into the lungs (respiratory ...
Dysphonia
Dysphonia is when your voice sounds raspy, strained or breathy. The volume (how loud or soft you speak) may be different and so may the pitch (how high or low your voice sounds). There are many ...
Hoarseness – Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
Hoarseness is an abnormal voice characteristic in which the voice has a coarse, breathy quality. Usually, it is benign and self-limited, but it may be an early indication of vocal cord carcinoma. ...
Sudden Deafness
Sudden sensorineural (“inner ear”) hearing loss (SSHL), commonly known as sudden deafness, is an unexplained, rapid loss of hearing either all at once or over a few days. SSHL happens because there ...
What is noise-induced hearing loss?
Every day, we experience sound in our environment, such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Normally, these sounds are at safe levels that don’t damage our ...
