“ I find working with all age groups
rewarding, but the group that consistently
grabs my heart are the seniors.”
Derek Phillips, Psy.D.
dementia,” Phillips explained. Results from the evaluation can
be helpful in understanding the causes of memory and related
functional decline. Phillips is excited to offer this service for the
first time at Sarah Bush Lincoln.
Welcoming
Derek Phillips, Psy.D.
Neuropsychology
Derek Phillips, Psy.D., has a passion for helping people
and understanding how the brain and associated cognitive
functions influence behavior.
He recently joined the medical staff at Sarah Bush Lincoln
as a Clinical Neuropsychologist and uniquely adds a new
dimension to the neurology team. “A neuropsychologist is
someone who evaluates, diagnoses and treats any neurological
condition that affects behavior or thinking skills,” Phillips
explained. “There are several neurological conditions that fall
under that category such as dementia, traumatic brain injury,
epilepsy, ADHD and stroke.”
With a warm and co mpassionate approach, Phillips measures
skills such as attention, memory, language, and problem-
solving skills to get an overall picture of an individual’s
cognitive function and determines what parts of the brain
might be linked to certain problems. With this information,
he can diagnose a disorder and provide targeted treatment
to help that person recover or cope. He works in partnership
with Neurologists Fatima Alao, MD, Anthony Collins,
MD, and Nurse Practitioner Jill Thompson, APN, at Family
Medical Center, Suite 3, in Mattoon.
“Neuropsychological evaluations can help differentiate
between normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and
A native of Casey, Phillips said his interest in the study of the
brain and human behavior evolved over time. He initially planned
to major in music after traveling with a show choir and playing
the trumpet and piano, and singing in high school. While he also
considered medicine, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in
psychology and social work from Olivet Nazarene University.
With a desire to work in direct patient care, Phillips earned a
Master of Arts in counseling psychology in 2012, followed by a
Doctor of Psychology in clinical psychology with a concentration
in clinical neuropsychology in 2015 from Adler University in
Chicago. Curious to learn more, Phillips completed formal
training in clinical neuropsychology, including a one-year
internship followed by a two-year fellowship at Psychological and
Neurobehavioral Services, P.A., in Lakeland, Florida.
During fellowship training, Phillips gained experience performing
neuropsychological evaluations on people of all ages, including
prison inmates, to determine their competency to proceed with
trial. “Those were some of the most challenging emotionally for
me,” he said.
While Phillips plans to work with mostly adults at Sarah Bush
Lincoln, he also offers testing services for children 12 and older. “I
find working with all age groups rewarding in some ways, but the
group that consistently grabs my heart is the seniors. I love hearing
their stories. They have such rich and important things to say. I
also know that many do not have anyone to talk to and they want
someone to listen, say that they understand what is happening,
and to find out if they are getting dementia,” he said.
Phillips hopes to make people feel comfortable by being open-
minded and offering an alternative perspective.
For more information, or to make an appointment with Derek Phillips for a
neuropsychological evaluation, call the SBL Neurology Clinic at 217-234-7000.
november 2017
healthstyles 11