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Psychological Assessments.
People may seek psychological assessments for a variety of reasons. Many clients come to us for diagnostic clarification, especially when they have experienced symptoms that have not responded well to treatment or because their healthcare provider recommends further evaluation. While there are numerous reasons that individuals may seek a psychological assessment, Dynamic Reflections serves to address the following common reasons for seeking assessments:
- Struggling to understand persistent feelings of anxiety, depression, or mood swings
- Supporting treatment planning for therapy or medication management
- Clarifying symptoms related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
By undergoing a psychological assessment, clients can gain a clearer understanding of their mental health and the factors contributing to their experiences.
Insurance and Cost of Psychological Assessments
We all recognize that insurance is a pain, this is especially true when it comes to psychological assessments. For some insurance companies, it is much harder to obtain psychological testing authorization than others. For example, some cover psychological testing automatically, others require that it is requested but will only provide a limited number of hours. Not all clients want to use insurance for their assessments and prefer to participate in private pay. The prices differ due to the cost of the assessments and the complexities associated with the assessments.
Psychodiagnostic Assessments
Psychodiagnostic is a fancy word referring to assessments that help identify and distinguish mental health related disorders for an individual. These kinds of assessments are helpful to determine treatment in both psychotherapy and with medications to ensure their treatment is getting at the root of the problem. Rather than trialing multiple medications for months or working in therapy to determine the ultimate underlying factors of symptoms, psychodiagnostic assessments provide a roadmap to facilitate a more rapid focus on the real issues at hand.
Evaluating Mood Disorders
Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, affect a client’s emotional state, energy levels, and, often, their physical condition. In general psychotherapy, clients may be given screening tools to monitor symptoms of depression or anxiety such as the GAD-7 or PHQ-9. These are excellent instruments and are not at all what are utilized in psychological assessments. In a psychological assessment, a comprehensive clinical interview is conducted determining the length and duration of the condition and any factors that have impacted the life of the client from birth to present. Psychological assessment instruments designed to specifically measure emotional functioning are administered by psychologists or individuals who have specialized training or are supervised by psychologists to interpret objective and projective personality measures. The measures used all have components of validity scales which help us to determine fatigue level and effort during the assessment to ensure that responses are consistent throughout the administration. Some assessments are quite rapid, being no longer than 2 hours in duration, while others can be in excess of 7-8 hours of administration time with assessments and the clinical interview. This comprehensive approach enables us to identify the mood disorder, eliminate what conditions are not present, and recommend treatment accordingly.
Psychodiagnostic assessment cost WITHOUT insurance
|
Adolescents |
$2,700 |
|
Adults |
$2,500 |
ADHD Assessments
Adults, and kiddos who struggle with attention, maintaining their focus, and/or impulsivity that has impacted relationships, school, work, or daily life may be appropriate for ADHD testing. It is important to distinguish the differences between distractibility, restlessness, or difficulty finishing tasks from ADHD or other causes like stress or anxiety. Thorough evaluations give insight to an individual’s strengths and areas that they struggle which can help with developing accommodations, identifying useful skills and generally improve quality of life through self-awareness.
Assessing ADHD
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that is known as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This kind of condition is something that individuals do not develop later in life (unless there is a significant life event change that comes with brain-related impacts) and is needed to be seen in the life of an individual prior to the age of 12. It impacts the executive functioning components of the frontal lobe of the brain which means that people who are diagnosed with ADHD may have difficulty organizing and planning tasks, following through on assignments, focusing on a single topic at a time, attending to a conversation, inhibiting responses when they are in a relationship, etc. The assessments we conduct for ADHD differ for adults versus children; however, both involve a combination of standardized questionnaires, clinical interviews and various assessments evaluating attention span, impulsivity, hyperactivity, inattention, inhibition, set shifting and so on. For children, more assessments are sent to teachers and parents to obtain collateral information on various environments in which the child is in to gain a better understanding of how the symptoms may be impacting their lives.
ADHD assessment cost WITHOUT insurance
|
Adolescents |
$3,000 |
|---|---|
|
Adults |
$2,700 |
Determine Your Path Forward with Psychological Assessments
Dynamic Reflections provides thorough and compassionate psychological assessments that empower clients to understand their mental health. By gaining insight into their challenges, clients can work collaboratively with our team to develop effective treatment plans and strategies for personal growth.
If you are considering a psychological assessment or have questions about the process, call our office, at (661) 788-5354.
Book Your Session today.
Reflect Grow. Thrive.
To learn more about the providers working within this area of focus, click on the names below:
Dr. Katie Card