Psychological Testing and Evaluation

Psychological Testing and EvaluationWhen we understand what we’re working with, we have a sense of control over our difficulties. Psychological assessments can immensely help the progress of counseling.

A psychological evaluation includes the administration, scoring and interpretation of your test, plus written reports which provide valuable recommendations for treatment. We pride ourselves on providing clear, comprehensive feedback. We will sit down with you and take the time to explain the results, answer your questions, and provide insights specific to your needs. Ultimately, we want you to have a clear understanding of your concerns and know what steps are needed to address those concerns.

Individuals can be self-referred for an evaluation, or more typically, can be referred by a parent, medical professional, or school official.

The data that assessments offer can help both the counselor and client narrow the field and help focus the goals of counseling. Psychological testing is useful for guiding diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment considerations. At Focus Forward we offer a range of psychological assessments tailored to each individual’s needs.

Common Psychological Evaluation Options

(1) Symptom Checklists

Symptom checklists allow for baseline measurement of functioning at the beginning of counseling and regular, objective checkups to help us gauge progress throughout our work together.

(2) Personality Inventories

Personality inventories help you learn more about your strengths and limitations and how these will affect your progress within and beyond counseling.

(3) Career Counseling Inventories

Career counseling inventories help you learn more about how your personality characteristics and career interests are likely to influence your satisfaction with various work settings and roles.

(4) Complete Psychological Evaluations

Complete psychological evaluations help to assess intellectual functioning, academic abilities, behavioral and adaptive functioning, and interpersonal skills. These can be extremely useful when facing complex issues, such as when a child faces academic challenges and it’s unclear whether that’s due to a learning disability, difficulty with attention or hyperactivity, or a completely different factor.

Specialty Areas

Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without Hyperactivity)
Behavioral and Adaptive Functioning
Emotional & Behavioral Functioning
Intellectual & Academic Functioning
IQ and Academic Skills Assessment (for SAT, ACT, or GMAT preparation; college success; career development, etc.)
Pyschoeducational Assessments (for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia)

An evaluation battery varies depending upon the referral question(s) and may include:

  • structured and collateral interviews
  • IQ and/or achievement test(s)
  • measures of attention and behavior
  • projective tests
  • self-report measures
  • parent and teacher checklists
  • behavioral observation

Psych Testing Process

Typically, there is an initial session to evaluate needs. From there one or two testing sessions may be required, depending on the number of tests/measures given. Finally, there is a feedback session in which your psychologist will review the results with you and provide recommendations for treatment.

Have questions? Give us a call and we’ll be happy to answer them!