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Psychological Assessment:


The purpose of a psychological assessment is to evaluate a person’s emotional well-being.  These evaluations may be requested by a medical doctor who would like more information before prescribing mood medication.  Psychological assessments involve  parts:
  1. Initial Appointment
    The assessment begins with a meeting during which the client shares concerns, provides relevant background information and documents, and provides goals for the assessment. This appointment lasts approximately one hour.
     
  2. Interview
    The second session may be required to continue collecting background information and/or allow for interview with client regarding areas of concern.  The client may be requested to complete paper and pencil questionnaires.  Depending on the insurance company, this allows time for filing of psychological test requests. Other insurances allow for this within the individual test appointments. This appointment lasts approximately one hour.
     
  3. Individual Testing
    The next one or two appointments involve completing a variety of standardized tasks that examine one or more of the domains listed below.  Questionnaires and rating scales are administered to evaluate mood, behavior, social functioning, and/or daily living skills. Time for this part of the evaluation typically ranges from 2 to 6 sit down hours for the client and is broken into manageable time slots depending on your schedule.

    Domains evaluated may include:
    Brief Intelligence Screen    
    Attention / Memory Screen    
    Visual Perceptual Screen    
    Academic Achievement Screen    
    Personality Assessment    
    Social Functioning Assessment    

     

  4. Verbal Feedback
    The next part of the assessment occurs soon after the last test session and involves meeting to discuss the results. Dr. Gangarosa-Emerson will explain each test and the client’s performance. You will have preliminary diagnoses and recommendations to begin to pursue. You should make arrangements to pay your portion of co-pays, deductibles, and additional fees at this time.
     
  5. Report
    The final part of the assessment is the report which can be mailed, faxed to you or picked up at an arranged time. It takes 4-8 weeks to obtain a report from the feedback session. Reports are thorough. You may see an additional diagnosis not originally mentioned at the feedback after all the data has been thoroughly analyzed. The report details all of the results and includes recommendations appropriate to the client. All monies are due at the time of the report. If you have additional questions after reading the report, you can call Dr. Gangarosa-Emerson or schedule an additional appointment for further information.

 


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