If you’ve seen a Psychologist, then you’ve probably completed at least one assessment. There’s a wide variety of reasons why assessments are completed and the way in which they are used. In this article, we hope to give a bit more insight into why assessments are so important in our profession and what you can expect from an assessment process.
Why assess?
Everyone we come across is an individual with their own traits, views and feelings.
As Psychologists, we like to have as much information as possible about the person we are supporting so we can best assist them. Assessment is often done during the earlier stages of intervention with a Psychologist as it helps us gather information in a shorter time so we can make the most of the time we have with you, almost like a short-cut for getting to know you. Assessments are a valuable part of the work we do in identifying specific issues or goals as well as helping to determine a plan of where to go next during intervention. Some assessments also allow us to link our clients with the most appropriate supports for them such as specific funding programs or courses designed for people with needs similar to theirs.
Assessments are made using thorough development processes and are regularly updated to reflect the most up to date information using real-world populations. Having this information allows us to objectively categorize how significant a person’s symptoms may be, provide diagnoses where required, develop treatment goals, and an appropriate plan to address the reasons you are referred to us.
Throughout intervention, we may also conduct further assessments to revaluate if our treatment plan is working the way it’s meant to and to regularly ensure we are providing treatment that is most suitable for you.
What assessments can we do?
Psychologists can be trained in hundreds of assessments, which can be more widely grouped into the following categories:
- Behavioural: why are certain behaviours occurring, do the behaviours constitute an underlying condition or diagnosis, how is this person’s functioning similar or different to other people their age?
- Intelligence or academic: IQ tests and tests of specific academic ability
- Mood: determine mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. These assessments can also help us monitor moods over time
- Developmental: specifically for children and adolescents and look at how milestones are being met, and identify the possibility of neurodevelopmental disorders
- Personality assessments: gain information about a person, presence of certain traits and characteristics
- Diagnostic: specific tests and assessments used to diagnose conditions such as Autism
- Screeners: generally shorter assessments used to screen for a variety of conditions prior to more formal assessment
- Reviews: satisfaction surveys, outcome measurements
Assessments can be confusing and sometimes a little daunting. If you’re not sure which assessment(s) you or your child may need or what a certain type of assessment involves, your GP, Paediatrician or a Psychologist is well placed to help you!
In particular, Psychologists are thoroughly trained to identify which assessments are going to be the most appropriate fit for you or your child.
To find out more about what to expect from the psychological assessment process you can view the original post at Beam Health.