Neuropsychological and Psychodiagnostic Testing
I provide comprehensive testing evaluations that can include exploring cognitive, neuropsychological, educational, and social-emotional factors to understand each individual in their own context:
- Attention
- Memory
- Organization and planning
- Motivation
- Emotional regulation
- Academic skills
- Visual-spatial processing
- Verbal reasoning and comprehension
- Social functioning
- Personality characteristics
A comprehensive assessment can clarify the barriers you or your loved one experiences leading to struggles in the academic or work place. It can also identify core strengths that can be harnessed to improve functioning and reduce procrastination, underachievement, stress and anxiety. Evaluations will lead to specific recommendations to help build skills, compensate for weaknesses in certain areas, and identify appropriate accommodations.
Psychodiagnostic or psychololgical testing is often completed in conjunction with the cognitive evaluation or on its own. It serves to clarify diagnostic questions and inform treatment planning. During this type of testing I evaluate:
- Symptoms of various conditions to understand the presence of struggles with depression, anxiety, psychosis, mania, anger problems, substance abuse, relational problems.
- Identify personality styles and characteristics that provide insight into psychological functioning and personal assets.
- Learn about an individual’s interpersonal life, their insight and judgment, risk-taking behavior, organizational style, and level of impulsivity.
The evaluation process is completed over several appointments. During the first appointment we will meet for a 90-minute intake session. We will discuss the issues that have led you to seek an evaluation for yourself or a family member. I will obtain a clinical history and forms will be completed by the individual being evaluated and possibly by family members or teachers. The second and third appointments are the testing sessions. These sessions are usually 2-4 hours long with breaks as needed. The last session is the feedback session and it is during this time that I will review the results of the testing with you and present you with the report and recommendations, which will include specific academic or workplace accommodations and a plan for how to move forward. This session usually lasts 60-90 minutes.