Psychological Assessment Treatment and Counselling

Psychological Assessment Treatment and Counselling

Although psychological testing may appear scary, it is intended to assist you. To arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment psychologists employ tests and other assessment instruments to measure and study a clients behavior.

If you or a family member has been referred for psychological testing you have probably got a lot of questions. Alternatively, you may have heard about psychological testing and are unsure if you or a family member should be evaluated. Although psychological testing may appear scary it is intended to assist you. Psychological testing and assessment are similar to medical tests in many aspects. A primary care practitioner might order X-rays or blood tests to figure out what causing a patients physical complaints. The test findings will be useful.

Psychological evaluations accomplish the same thing. To arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment, psychologists employ tests and other assessment instruments to measure and study a clients behavior. Psychologists use tests and exams to help people with a variety of issues. Children who are having difficulties in school for example, may be subjected to aptitude testing or learning disability assessments. A neuropsychologist can use tests for dexterity reaction time and memory to diagnose diseases such brain injury or dementia.

If a person is having difficulties at work, school or in personal relationships tests can help a psychologist figure out if he or she has challenges with anger control, interpersonal skills or personality qualities that contribute to the problem. Other tests look to see if

Its not always easy to figure out what causing a persons troubles.

Tests and assessments

A psychological examination consists of two different but linked components tests and assessments. Both types of tools are used by psychologists to arrive at a diagnosis and treatment plan.Formal tests such as questionnaires or checklists are used in testing. These tests are frequently referred to as norm-referenced tests. Simply said the examinations have been standardized so that test takers are graded in the same way regardless of where they live or who administers the test. For example a norm-referenced examination of a childs reading abilities may score that childs ability in comparison to other children of comparable age or grade level. Researchers have designed and assessed norm-referenced tests which have been shown to be effective in measuring a certain characteristic or disease.

Norm-referenced psychological exams informal tests and surveys, interview information, school or medical records, medical examination and observational data can all be included in a psychological assessment. Based on the exact questions being asked a psychologist decides what information to use. Assessments can be done to establish whether a person has a learning disability is competent to stand trial or has had a traumatic brain injury for example. They can also be used to see if someone would make a good boss or if they can work well with others.

A clinical interview for example is a typical assessment tool. When a psychologist discusses a clients issues and history they can see how the client thinks, argues and behaves. Other people who are close to the client such as teachers, coworkers or family members may be interviewed as part of the assessment. Testing and assessment work together to give a psychologist a complete picture of a persons strengths and weaknesses.