Psychological Assessment & testing

what is Psychological Assessment & testing?

The process of evaluating a person’s mental health and determining whether they’re a candidate for any kind of treatment is called a psychological assessment, or psychological testing. Psychological assessments & testing are oftentimes more complicated than a comparatively straightforward blood test or biopsy.

Many psychological assessments are composed of questions, often asked in an interview setting between a mental health professional and their client. There are no right or wrong answers, and the contents of each answer often only plays a partial role in the full assessment.

Doctors are tasked with evaluating clients based on countless factors, including their work-life balance and satisfaction, interpersonal relationship skills, social life, physical and behavioral health symptoms (i.e. unexplained pains, poor sleep cycles, high appetite), and both self-reported mental health symptoms as well as potential symptoms indicated by yes-or-no answers to specific questions about dealing with stress, reacting to negative stimuli, or negative self-talk.

Physical testing can also be a part of a comprehensive psychological assessment, especially when symptoms involved can be explained or caused by physical illness. A doctor may want to schedule follow-up appointments to determine whether certain symptoms can be attributed to something short-term, like current life stressors, or whether they’re part of a chronic condition.

Benefits of Psychological Assessment & Testing

Mental health treatment is often multimodal, interdisciplinary, and long-term – meaning, it can be a very involved process. An accurate diagnosis is important. Knowing what you’re dealing with can also give you greater peace of mind, and help you set expectations for your treatment.

A thorough psychological assessment should be your first step after seeking professional help to get through a mental health crisis, whether it’s due to behavioral issues such as finding yourself struggling with normal tasks, or emotional problems such as sudden and unexplained emotional highs and lows.

Types of Tests

There are dozens of different assessment tools for mental health conditions. These tests are usually divided between:

Attitude Tests: These tests use agree/disagree sliders to measure a person’s response to certain statements.
IQ, Intelligence, and Aptitude Tests: IQ tests and other forms of intelligence testing can measure changes in cognitive abilities or reveal signs of an intellectual disability, or neurodevelopmental health issues (such as ADHD) in young children and adults alike.
EQ Tests: Emotional intelligence tests are used to score a person’s impulsivity, happiness, sadness, and anger, among other responses.
Projective Tests: These tests utilize unrelated stimuli to observe emotional or cognitive feedback, which may hint at underlying mental health issues. Common examples include the inkblot test or word association.
Neuropsychological Testing: These are comprehensive tests often created to help diagnose specific conditions based on common criteria, such as depression tests, or anxiety tests. They use questionnaires or yes/no statements to measure executive functioning, memory, emotion, and behavior.

The Process Behind Psychological Assessment & Testing at Resolutions

It’s important to us that clients know what their next steps might be. A thorough psychological assessment at Resolutions involves an initial assessment with a mental health professional, and more thorough testing based on the first interview.

We encourage clients to approach each assessment with an open and honest mind. There are no right or wrong answers, and every assessment helps guide clients towards their bespoke treatment plan.