What is a psychological evaluation?
A psychological evaluation allows the psychologist to assess symptoms, to determine a diagnosis, and to provide recommendations for treatment. It can be initiated by the patient, or by a referral from a specialist already treating the patient. A psychological evaluation includes a clinical interview session, sessions for administration of tests and assessments, and a session to discuss findings.
What is the purpose of an evaluation?
A psychological evaluation can be recommended for many purposes, including determining eligibility for a gifted school program, as a pre-assessment for bariatric surgery or pain management devices, assessing intellectual ability, identifying a learning disorder, and diagnosing an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder.
A neuropsychological evaluation is a comprehensive type of psychological evaluation that involves the administration of tests of cognitive, motor, and perceptual skills to assess brain function. A neuropsychological evaluation often measures attention and concentration, learning and memory, reasoning and problem-solving, visual-spatial functions, language and speech ability, sensory-perceptual and motor functions, academic skills, and emotional functioning.
How the results of a psychological evaluation can help me?
Findings of the psychological evaluation allow the psychologist to determine a diagnosis, when information from clinical interview, observations during testing, and other data provided, such as previous evaluation reports, medical records, etc., is considered. Once a diagnosis or diagnoses have been established, recommendations are provided to address the needs identified.