Neuropsychology in Greece: Results from a survey of practicing professionals

Abstract

Neuropsychology is a fast-growing specialty in Greece. This study surveyed the status of neuropsychologists in Greece investigating several aspects of the profession. An online-based questionnaire collected data from December 2019 to February 2020. A total of 133 participants specialized in neuropsychology were included in the final sample: 81% of the participants were women with a mean age of 35 years. In the total sample, 25.8% of the participants reported working in the hospital system, 18.5% in the university or college, and 17.7% in a private practice job. Greek professionals cited to engage actively in assessment (87.9%), in research (65.1%), in rehabilitation (47.7%), and teaching (30.2%). Professionals primarily declared to assess individuals with dementia (80.3%), depression (47.7%), and stroke (44.0%), and they reported neurologists, psychiatrists and psychologists as their leading sources of referrals. The top five perceived barriers to the field include the lack of recognized specialty (75.9%), the lack of clinical training opportunities (63.9%), the lack of strong professional associations (57.9%), the lack of access to neuropsychological instruments (57.9%) and the lack of willingness to collaborate between professionals (48.9%). The average monthly income of professionals represents a ratio of 0.76 in comparison to that of other scientists in the country and is the lowest reported among other countries. Despite the significant development of the profession, it is essential to create more clinical training opportunities, apply practices systematically to diverse populations, redefine the specialty of neuropsychology in the national health system of the country, and advocate for the profession.

Keywords:

• Greece
• neuropsychology
• practices
• profession
• training

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Professor Mary H. Kosmidis, Professor Ioannis Zalonis and Professor George Paxinos who kindly gave their time to read through and comment on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).