Meeting with a Neuropsychologist

Career Connection Club recently had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Emily D'Antonio, a board certified clinical neuropsychologist and founder of her own private practice. She works with kids, teens, adults, and older adults to better understand how their brains are functioning. She evaluates concerns like ADHD, learning disabilities, concussions, epilepsy, and dementia. During our meeting, she explained the many different paths within psychology, how she unexpectedly found neuropsychology, and what her daily work actually looks like.

The Quote I Loved

"It is a long road, but it is so worth it."

Dr. D'Antonio was very honest about how much schooling it takes to become a neuropsychologist. She completed four years of college, about five years of a PhD program, and then two additional years of postdoctoral training. She even joked that at one point she felt like she was in “28th grade.” But what really stood out was how much she loves what she does. She described her career as flexible, interesting, and never boring.

Actionable Insights

• Psychology has many different career paths.
  There is not just one type of psychologist. You can become a clinical psychologist, counseling psychologist, health psychologist, school psychologist, industrial organizational psychologist, sports psychologist, researcher, and more. There are many options within the field.

• Neuropsychology focuses on testing and analysis.
  Unlike therapists who meet weekly with patients to talk through emotions, neuropsychologists mainly conduct detailed cognitive testing to understand how someone’s brain is working. Dr. D'Antonio spends about half her time testing and half her time scoring tests and writing long reports.

• Research experience is important if you want a PhD.
  Graduate programs really value research experience. As a research assistant, you need to be careful, detail oriented, and responsible because you are handling important data.

• Know your strengths and personality.
  Dr. D'Antonio realized she was more analytical and enjoyed working with numbers and patterns rather than providing long term therapy. Understanding what type of work fits your personality can help you choose the right specialty.

• Take biology and statistics seriously.
  If you are interested in neuropsychology, classes like biology, anatomy, and statistics are very helpful. Understanding how the brain works and how to interpret data is key.

• Diagnoses are not always clear cut.
  Many conditions like ADHD exist on a spectrum. Sometimes someone has symptoms but not enough to meet the official criteria. Dr. D'Antonio explained that what matters most is understanding a person’s strengths and weaknesses, not just giving them a label.

• There is high demand in this field.
  Neuropsychologists are highly specialized and there are not many of them, so they are very busy. The work is demanding but meaningful.

• Your path does not have to be perfect from the start.
  Dr. D'Antonio actually started college as a music major before switching to psychology. She did not even know what neuropsychology was in high school. It is okay to explore and change direction.

Final Thoughts

Talking with Dr. D'Antonio showed us that careers do not have to be linear. You do not need to know your exact path at 16. What matters is staying curious, gaining experience, and learning more about yourself along the way. Psychology is a wide and flexible field, and neuropsychology combines science, data, and real impact on people’s lives. It may take years of training, but as she said, it is absolutely worth it.