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Psychological Testing & Assessments
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Understanding Psychological Assessments
In the start of therapy session, sometimes it is observed that a person needs a psychological evaluation or assessment. But the thing which is important is what actually this process means or how it is important? A large part of any mental health diagnosis is the information gathered from a psychological assessment. Let’s take a look at these evaluations and how they can help provide the outline for any recovery process
Conducted by psychologists, a psychological assessment is frequently regarded as the initial phase in your journey toward recovery from a mental illness. Psychological assessment can tell a whole analysis of a human. These evaluations are consist of multiple tests which may be in form of questionnaires, interviews, observations and most importantly history at work or school.
Why Are Psychological Assessments Performed?
The goal of psychological evaluations is to determine each person's next course of action for getting well from mental health issues. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), assessments collect information on ideas, feelings, and behaviors as it will help to maintain a plan of work. They are frequently likened to receiving a diagnosis in a hospital after experiencing pain in a certain area of your body or feeling lightheaded or dizzy.
These assessments can give a full analysis of human's cognitive strengths and abilities and deficiencies. Psychologists also employ assessments on a periodic basis to monitor the healing process's progress and make appropriate modifications. Lastly, they help family and other loved ones by providing them with a better understanding of the issues the patient may be facing.
How do you know you might need a psychological evaluation? Here are some signs a psychological assessment might be necessary to pursue a diagnosis:
- Mood changes
- Sleep habit changes
- Nervousness
- Difficulty concentrating throughout the day
- Difficulty following daily routines
- Lacking interest in hobbies and activities you once enjoyed
What to Expect When Seeing a Psychologist
You can expect to spend a few hours at a facility completing tests, interviews, or other information-gathering methods. Clients usually take tests independently, but there are follow-ups with psychologists. Additionally, remember that psychological tests and assessments aren’t graded on a pass/fail basis, on a curve, or like any other test you’ve taken in school. You can’t study for them, nor should you want to. Instead, they’re meant to give a clear and accurate diagnosis of your mind and body, so make sure you or a loved one isn’t stressing over the test. The most crucial part is that you see your psychologist with an open mind, which will help to find the most appropriate evidence-based therapies for your condition.
Assessments are separated into 4 phases:
- Interviews and information gathering
- Testing
- Analysis, formulation, and report writing
- Feedback session to ensure accurate understanding and distribution of information.
Phase 1: Interview and Information Gathering
At the start of the assessment, all of the important stake holders are identified. These typically include client, parents, significant other, therapist, referral consultant, psychiatrist, and other professionals or programs that may have insight. Parents and Client are given a Parent Questionnaire to fill out prior to their interview to create an outline of relevant historical information which is then detailed during the interview. Parents can submit their own narrative or timeline which can help tremendously. Calls are scheduled with prior treatment providers. The purpose of the interviews is to gather information, as well as understand the perspective and opinions of the interviewee.
Phase 2: Psychological Testing
- Cognitive Testing: IQ and achievement tests to assess a person's mental prowess and shortcomings. General awareness, attention, verbal understanding, visual spatial aptitude, computation, abstract cognition, impulsivity, problem solving, social comprehension, and judgment are among the domains that make up general assessment. Eliminate severe learning impairments. (Possible Tests: WAIS, WISC, WJ-III, SB-3, WIAT, WRAT)
- Emotional: Examine emotional functioning as well as identity formation deficiencies, obsessive/compulsive disorders, sadness, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. Evaluate the functioning of personality. Acquire information on emotional and developmental age. Collect information about the dynamics of families.. (Possible Tests: MMPI, MACI, MCMI, BDI, Rorschach)
- Behavioral: Consider drug misuse. Check for signs of abuse and trauma. Assess for aggressiveness, treatment compliance, and self-harm risk as well as flight. Recognize deception, exaggeration, and malingering. Look out for actions that are risky, prohibited, infringe upon someone else's rights, or go against important societal norms, such as substance misuse. Eliminate mental illnesses and check for any organic impairments. (Possible Tests: Achenbach, BASC, Vanderbilt, other rating forms)
- Executive Functioning: Since EF skills have a strong correlation with outcomes, we think every client should have their EF skills examined. Additionally, therapeutic treatment planning should take EF skill development into account. Assessments of executive functioning look at inhibition, self-control, problem-solving, planning, organization, inhibition, working memory, and accountability. (Possible Tests: BRIEF, WCST, D-KEFS, EFSD)
- Neuropsychological testing: assesses neurodevelopmental diseases like learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, and concussions. Attention, memory, language, executive functioning, and visual-spatial functioning are some of the domains. For clients that require it, it is a sophisticated degree of comprehension.
Phase 3: Anaylsis, Formulation and Written Report
Following the completion of the tests and interviews, the psychologist proceeds to score the results and examines all the interview and historical data in order to comprehend the client and develop the diagnosis and functioning. The test results are reported in a thorough and frequently long report. It will provide a comprehensive psychosocial history and a review of all pertinent past events that could be influencing learning, personality, or change. It is written from a developmental perspective. Previous reports and treatment strategies will be summarized. For every domain under evaluation, a results section detailing the most recent test results will be included. A formulation and summary will be provided to encapsulate the results and diagnosis. Above all, a comprehensive recommendations section that can be personalized will be included and tailored to immediate and long-term needs of the client.
Recommendations and Prescriptive Protocols
Recommendations are specific to the client's needs and address current and future needs of the client.
Individualized recommendations address:
- Medications
- Medical referrals (e.g. neurology, endocrinology, opthamology, occupational therapy, etc)
- Therapy (individual, group, family) and specific interventions
- Academic issues (learning disabilities and accommodations)
- Social development
- Substance abuse
- Independence and individuation through executive functioning
- Long term issues such as vocational development
Phase 4: Feedback
The initial test findings are promptly shared with the therapist and referral sources to initiate treatment planning. Whenever possible, a meeting or teleconference is arranged with all relevant stakeholders, including parents, therapists, and educational consultants. If the next placement is confirmed, the new therapist is invited to join the call. The primary objectives of this meeting are twofold: first, to ensure accurate and timely information distribution, and second, to facilitate essential discussions about the subsequent steps in the treatment process. If the admissions department of potential programs wishes to have a separate discussion with the testing psychologist, arrangements for such conversations can be made.
