Psychological Assessment: What is the name for what I’m experiencing?
What is a Psychological Assessment?
A psychological assessment helps you answer a question you are having about your cognitive and/or emotional experience. Currently, we are offering psychodiagnostic assessments.
A psychodiagnostic assessment helps determine the nature of your emotional difficulties and suggests some ways forward if you would like to work on these difficulties.
Some examples of questions that could be answered in a psychodiagnostic assessment:
Do I have an anxiety disorder?
Am I having difficulty eating enough because I am depressed or because I have an eating disorder?
Is it normal to feel “grey” all the time?
In the process of answering these questions, you may receive a diagnosis, which is a label for your difficulties derived from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 TR). Diagnoses can be helpful to gain access to employment or school accommodations, gain access to or plan for other psychological services, and/or clarify what previously might have been a confusing experience.
If we work together on a psychodiagnostic assessment, I will spend approximately 3 hours talking with you about your concerns and administering some psychological tests. Using that information, I will write a report that provides an explanation for the difficulties you are experiencing, highlights your strengths, and provides recommendations for how to work on or accommodate these difficulties and make best use of your talents. Then, you will meet with me to review your results, and I will provide you with a copy of the report that you can distribute as needed (e.g., to your employer).
Who Can Benefit from a Psychological Assessment?
Psychological assessments are most beneficial to folks who are confused about what they are experiencing and would like clarity (e.g., do I have an anxiety disorder?, is it normal to feel ‘grey’ all the time?), and/or who need to know if their difficulties meet the threshold for a diagnosis so that that they can access certain accommodations or services. As this suggests, assessments can be used to help plan for interventions to address difficulties - e.g., if an assessment indicated that someone was struggling with an eating disorder, that diagnosis could be used to refer the client into an eating disorder treatment program.
What Are the Benefits of a Psychological Assessment?
Psychological assessments can help you gain more insight into who you are and what you are experiencing. In addition, if a diagnosis is made, an assessment can also help you access certain accommodations (e.g., stress leave from work, test centre accommodations for post-secondary students) or services (e.g., entry into a treatment program that requires a diagnosis). A psychological assessment can also be helpful in suggesting steps to take to work with any challenges identified in the assessment. For instance, if an assessment indicated that someone was struggling with severe obsessive compulsive disorder, that diagnosis could be used to refer the client into an obsessive compulsive disorder treatment program. Since assessments are carried out by psychologists who also provide therapy, we will help connect you to the supports you need following the assessment.
Psychological Assessment Fees
Fee: $1,750 (approximately 3 hours of interviewing and testing, 3 hours of report writing, and 1 hour of results review)
Book a Free Psychological Assessment Consultation
Please use the contact form below to get in touch if you would like to book a free initial 20 minute conversation about psychological assessment or to ask any questions. I welcome questions and comments from folks at all stages of their journey, whether you’re researching options, curious about therapy, or ready to book an appointment.