Psychological Testing
Psychological testing is used to help people understand themselves better and find solutions to their persistent problems. Therapeutic Assessment differs from traditional psychological assessment, whose main goal is to diagnose disorders, plan treatments, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions; Therapeutic Assessment can serve all these purposes as well, but its primary goal is to facilitate positive changes in clients by providing a more thorough examination for particular concerns that can have many co-occuring issues, such as ADHD, personality disorders, and mood disorders.Â
What Does Psychological Testing Look Like?
Psychological testing typical involves a robust series of assessments that can take the form of self-report measures, clinician administered measures and computer assessments. The testing process takes several appointments to complete:
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The first appointment consists of getting a full psycho-social history so a therapist can understand you as a person first, while also understanding what troubles you are having. The next appointment is the testing session where assessments are administered, usually completed in the office. The final appointment or feedback session is a debrief and review of findings from the assessments and a time to discuss the diagnosis, if appropriate, and provide recommendations. Ultimately, psychological testing is another tool to help you better understand how you function, provide differential diagnoses and provide clarity on how to address concerns that may have been missed from other treatments. Testing can be a helpful resources in answer the question "What is actually going on?"
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Common issues that assessments are used for are ADHD, personality concerns, as well as mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder.
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