Psychological Assessments
Psychological assessments aim to measure aspects of a client’s cognitive abilities, behaviour and personality patterns and emotional strengths and challenges. Testing helps target any potential needs for therapy or school/work accommodations by establishing an appropriate psychological diagnosis – it also helps to coordinate care with others working with you such as medical doctors or other agencies that may require your most up to date psychological information.
How it Works
A comprehensive evaluation can take anywhere between several hours to multiple days depending on the type of testing needed.
Typically, an initial diagnostic interview is followed by a customised psychological evaluation on a separate day. After the evaluation has been completed, clients are invited to a feedback session so the results of testing can be reviewed. During feedback, there is a discussion about follow-up treatment plans or clinical recommendations and the patient’s impression of the results and plans is considered.
Psychological Testing Services can help to facilitate a better sense of understanding between a client and his/her environment in that results show the clients individual strengths and challenges more clearly. A clear picture creates opportunities for a more streamlined approach to follow-up services.
I offer Neuropsychological, Clinical and Forensic Psychological, as well as Educational Evaluations in a diagnostic screening format to assess for:
- Learning disorders.
- Academic achievement.
- Evaluation for intellectual disability.
- Adaptive functioning.
- Personality characteristics.
- Developmental delays.
- Issues regarding mood and anxiety.
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Effects of past traumatic events.
- A decline in cognitive abilities.
What is a Neuropsychological Assessment or Evaluation?
A Neuropsychological Assessment is a specialised task-oriented evaluation of the human brain-behaviour relationship that takes place over several sessions. The assessment component is comprised of a wide range of cognitive, neuropsychological, and psychological tests that objectively measure brain functions. Another part of the assessment is taking relevant background information including a review of the person’s case history and records and an interview with the individual and his/her family. This all provides important and relevant information about the impact of the person’s functional performance habits and overall lifestyle.
The assessment includes a variety of different methods for evaluating attention, abstract and organisational thinking, academics, awareness, concentration, general psychological adjustment, language (receptive and expressive), mathematical reasoning, memory, motor abilities, new learning, orientation, problem-solving, sensory, emotional
characteristics, social judgment, and spatial perception.
After the assessment, I would usually explain in detail the strengths and challenges for the person assessed and how these are expected to augment or impact the individual’s life. It is my goal to be very clear and informative about ways that the person’s abilities would affect them on a day to day basis.
I can perform evaluations with neuropsychological focus for the following purposes:
- Children who are not achieving appropriate developmental milestones.
- Diagnosis of attention deficit disorder.
- Educational evaluation to determine the learning disability.
- Identify academic strengths and weaknesses.
- Substance abusing patients.
- Forensic neuropsychological evaluations.
- Competency evaluations.
- Psychological evaluations to access personality functioning.