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James J. De Santis, Ph.D. Post Office Box 894, Glendora, CA 91740-0894 (818) 551-1714 The reader is welcome to print any screen from this website for personal use only as long as author, copyright, and contact information are not removed. Psychological testing is not easily described. Psychodiagnostic assessment is generally performed by a licensed psychologist who is qualified through education, training, and experience to conduct testing. It varies depending on the clinician’s practice and philosophy and the specifics of the problems the patient brings in for evaluation. Assessment involves the measurement and classification of psychological phenomena in an individual. It is intended to help understand such issues as a person’s personality, emotional difficulties they may be having, or their ability to think in order to identify causes of problems occurring in school, work, or social relationships, predict the course of a problem, and select strategies to manage or solve a problem. The Elements and Process of Assessment A number of different approaches can be applied to evaluating psychological problems. The first few sessions with your psychologist will usually involve an initial interview where the doctor wants to hear about your concerns and what you have observed. The doctor will then select appropriate measures to best assess the problem. Very often, no single method will conclusively diagnose a problem. Comprehensive evaluation should rule out other relevant difficulties that can mimic or complicate the suspected problem. During the course of an evaluation, a psychologist is likely to draw on various approaches according in part to the nature of the problem being evaluated and his or her judgement of what approaches will illuminate the issue best. A thorough evaluation may include a clinical interview with the patient and/or family members, a review of personal history, review of any prior records such as school report cards or previous psychological testing, examination of school or work samples, consultation with your physician or therapist, and completion of a set of structured questionnaires and objective psychological tests. The evaluator may want to observe the school or work environment with your permission. Once all assessment procedures are completed, the evaluator explains the results and conclusions in clear and understandable language. Results may be provided verbally in a concluding feedback conference with the patient and/or family or in a written report that may include a summary of relevant history, a narrative description and explanation of findings, a listing of test scores, a diagnostic impression, and recommendations for addressing the problem. Your psychologist will be able to discuss with you his or her initial understanding of your difficulties, whether you can benefit from certain treatments, what the therapeutic objectives of such treatments would be, the procedures used in the course of those treatments, and his or her professional opinion about the possible and likely outcomes. Depending on the nature of the problem, a comprehensive plan of treatment may include a number of suggestions, for example, individual or family counseling, coaching, educational therapy, evaluation by other medical specialists, attending a support group, specialized school placement, or classroom or workplace modifications. With your consent, consultations with the referrer or other professionals may be included as well. The actual length of time required to complete an evaluation will depend on a number of factors and cannot be predicted in advance exactly; however, assessment can take from several hours to several days. When to Seek an Assessment Psychological evaluation is warranted when prominent symptoms are interfering with life, and prior attempts to solve the problem have proven ineffective. Psychodiagnostic assessment can help to clarify a confusing diagnostic picture by distinguishing between different possible causes and syndromes and to generate helpful recommendations about a plan of treatment or remediation. A number of difficulties may benefit from psychological evaluation, for example, academic underachievement, symptoms of depression and anxiety, teenagers exhibiting behavior problems, trouble functioning effectively in the workplace, difficulties with interpersonal relationships, problems with recalling facts or instructions, or word-finding difficulty. Advantages of Private Assessment When an evaluation is done privately, you have control. You have control of the quality of the evaluation. A private assessment is essentially an independent appraisal. You can personally select an evaluator based on professional education, training, and experience. Evaluation can be comprehensive in scope and include consideration of other significant possible contributing factors. The final report may have a significant impact on a person’s life, and so you will have control of disclosure and distribution of the results when testing is done privately. You can obtain a re-evaluation easily and as needed to assess the effectiveness of interventions provided. Psychological Testing as a Part of an Assessment While not always a part of an assessment, psychological testing is a method frequently used to evaluate psychological difficulties. Conceptually, psychological testing frequently uses a small sample of carefully chosen and measured observations to infer larger generalizations about an individual. Psychological testing attempts to objectively identify, quantify, and categorize symptoms, behavior, ways of thinking and feeling, or problems a person is having. It uses standardized written instruments, oral question and answer, responding to pictures or symbols, or manipulating apparatus like blocks or puzzles, that have been validated in clinical trials under uniform procedures to measure differences among individuals. Test scores allow a standardized comparison among individuals. Testing can take several hours to administer to the patient, and can take several more hours to score and interpret the results and then generate a written report. The Test Battery Most of the time, no single test or method is sufficient to accurately diagnose a psychological problem or condition. Therefore a collection of tests, or test battery, is assembled to fully assess the problem. Testing then yields a pattern of scores. Sometimes a battery requires only a few selected tests that focus on a few specific measurements. Sometimes a battery is quite comprehensive, measuring a wide variety of areas. Clinical Interview A clinical interview is a conversation between doctor and patient. The interview in part may be to collect information about a person's background and functioning in a variety of areas including medical, social, educational, employment, and family. The interview may also be to observe and explore the patient's current mental state, including their thinking and emotions. Sometimes, the patient may be allowed to describe in their own terms what they are experiencing, or they may be asked a series of pre-determined questions. Personality Assessment Personality testing evaluates measuring non-intellectual factors such as emotional adjustment, functioning in interpersonal relationships, motivation, interests, attitudes, and ways of coping. While symptoms are conditions which are relatively transitory, developing and changing in response to various life circumstances and experiences, such as anxiety or depression, personality traits on the other hand are relatively enduring patterns of behavior and thinking which may contribute to the development of symptoms, such as dependency, compulsivity, or social avoidance. Psychoeducational Assessment Usually psychoeducational testing involves a comprehensive battery of individually administered subtests that each measure an aspect of cognitive ability and scholastic achievement. Comparisons can then be made between capability and attainment to determine if an individual has reached full academic potential. Interpreting the pattern of scores can contribute to further understanding the difficulties which a patient experiences in mastering certain learning experiences. Psychoeducational testing can be helpful in identifying students with specific cognitive deficits that are impeding successful learning and students who are gifted and need greater learning challenges. This type of testing can be helpful in advocating for admission to specialized programs, schools, and colleges. Psychoeducational assessment may rule out learning disabilities or attentional deficits. Achievement testing is a component of psychoeducational testing that specifically measures the effects of educational programs on students in, for example, the areas of reading, spelling, written composition, computation, math reasoning, or general knowledge. Comparisons among the patient’s achievement scores can determine if any significant relative personal strengths and weaknesses exist. Achievement scores are customarily compared against what is expected for the individual’s chronological age or grade level. Intellectual Assessment Intelligence testing, sometimes considered a part of psychoeducational testing, evaluates specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses. It is designed to identify children or adults who will benefit from the regular classroom curriculum or who have special needs. This type of testing allows education to be customized to the individual. Often intelligence testing involves a series of separate subtests that measure various aspects of intelligence, such as verbal comprehension, including the ability to use verbal skills in reasoning and solving problems and the capacity to learn verbal material, efficiency and integrity of the individual’s perceptual organization, including non-verbal reasoning skills, the ability to employ visual images in thinking, and the ability to process visual material. All the subtests may then contribute to an overall intelligence score. Neuropsychological Assessment Neuropsychological testing evaluates those cognitive functions that are sensitive to changes in the condition or degree of impairment of the brain and central nervous system. Often such testing involves a series of separate subtests that measure various aspects of cognition that are affected by brain function. Such testing may evaluate visual and auditory memory, visual-spatial perception, mental processing speed, fine motor skill, word comprehension, tactile perception, attention, and expressive and receptive speech. With such measures, organic brain impairment can be detected and localized. A rehabilitation program can then be designed. Forensic Assessment Whenever psychological conditions are a factor in deciding the outcome of a legal matter, a forensic evaluation may be sought. Forensic assessment can include evaluation of cognition, mood, personality, or behavior, but it is conducted specifically for a legal proceeding, either civil or criminal. Examples of legal matters sometimes necessitating evaluation are risk assessment of potential for violence and dangerousness, criminal behavior and juvenile delinquency, jury behavior and selection, the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, the psychology of confessions and false confessions, the dimensions and assessment of legal competency and insanity, substance abuse assessment, personal injury, wrongful termination and harassment, civil commitment and conservatorship, and domestic violence and family law including custody evaluations. A psychologist may also provide forensic consultation to attorneys, usually in the form of reviewing medical records including psychological and neuropsychological reports and providing information about psychological and neuropsychological issues. The psychologist will often appear in either depositions or court hearings as an expert witness to explain and answer questions about the assessment. Employment or Fitness for Duty Assessment Psychological testing can be applied to the screening of applicants for special employment situations to ensure that applicants are psychologically healthy and suited to the tasks of the job. Examples of situations that may warrant fitness for duty evaluation include law enforcement, clergy, military, or jobs requiring a security clearance. Vocational Assessment Vocational testing typically centers on making optimal recommendations about which occupations best fit an individual. Such evaluations may evaluate such elements as career development background, occupational interests, vocational aptitudes, learning style, work habits and behaviors, personal and social skills, values and attitudes towards work, self-concept, and work tolerances. Such evaluations are useful for adolescents and young adults selecting from among various career directions and the necessary preparation for those careers. Testing can recommend types of remedial strategies that will lead to improved vocational preparation. Testing can also be useful for people considering a midlife career change and the steps required for a successful transition, such as additional education or training. Custody Assessment The primary purpose of a custody evaluation is to make recommendations for assigning custody, allowing access to, and making parenting decisions about children where parents are unable to resolve their own agreement. Decisions regarding child custody occur within several legal contexts, including parental divorce, guardianship, neglect or abuse proceedings, and termination of parental rights. The evaluator’s goal is to assess the best psychological interests of the child. The focus of the evaluation is on parenting capacity, the psychological and developmental needs of the child, and the resulting fit between the two. The psychologist does not give any opinion regarding the psychological functioning of any individual who has not been personally evaluated. Areas for assessment may include continuity and quality of attachments, child’s preference for living situation, parental alienation, any special needs of the child, the impact of custody on the child’s education, gender issues, sibling relationships, each parent’s physical and psychiatric health, parents’ work schedules and finances, styles of parenting and discipline, parents’ conflict-resolution skills, social support systems, cultural and religious issues, and parents’ ethics and values systems. Click here to view the Los Angeles Psychodiagnostic Assessment Directory |
What is Psychological Testing? |