Evaluations

A psychological evaluation provides detailed insight into the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning of a patient, including a comparison to what is normative given the age and other status of the patient. It may be used to determine specific educational or treatment needs and/or to provide differential diagnosis when a patient’s treatment or progress may have reached an impasse. The evaluation consists of a face to face interview of a patient, as well as assessment using one or more standardized measurement instruments, depending on the purpose of the evaluation and the specialty of the evaluator. In addition, review of records and interview of important collateral sources (parents for example) is usually indicated. For those reasons it is important for the referring professional to be very clear about the reason for testing and the specific questions that need to be answered.

Who Can Complete: Licensed Psychologist

What this evaluation should include:

• Diagnostic Interview determines nature of problem and what specific testing is indicated
• COLLATERAL INFORMATION from referring party, family members, other providers is ESSENTIAL to a good psychological evaluation
• A battery of standardized tests are administered in accordance with the needs identified in the referral question and from the diagnostic interview.*
• Clinical Formulation: this statement is a synthesis of test results and a statement of the implications for the client and should give insight into the nature of the
• client’s problem
• Diagnosis
• Specific treatment recommendations as relevant to the referral question.
• Risk assessment in regard to patient harm to self or others – if applicable
• Prognosis: the likely outcome of treatment
• *Testing may include the following:
  • Intelligence tests measure basic cognitive capacities such as thinking, understanding concepts, acquiring information, solving problems, and reasoning.
  • Personality tests measure basic personality style, which is generally considered to be stable over time. Well-known examples are the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), or the revised MMPI-2, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III).
  • Neuropsychological tests measure specific areas cognitive functioning including attention, memory, executive functioning, and language. Often assess deficits in these areas that may result from brain damage, such as a stroke or a brain injury. Learning disabilities, for example, may affect the brain’s ability to receive and process information
  • Occupational tests: match interests of the person with interests of persons in known careers. Examples include the Strong Interest Inventory, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and Holland’s Self-Directed Search (SDS).
  • Achievement and aptitude tests measure how much a person knows or has learned; or predicts the capacity a person may have for certain topics. Such tests include the Wide Range Achievement Test-III (WRAT-III) and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-III (WIAS-III)
  • Other specific clinical tests may be indicated for specific problem areas such levels of anxiety, depression, or disordered behavior.
  • There are specific assessment/testing protocols for children with learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol, other

When to refer:

• When a client is not progressing in treatment; when a mental health provider (therapist or psychiatrist) has identified the need for testing to obtain a differential diagnosis; usually based on a concern about underlying cognitive, personality, or other concerns creating a barrier to progress