Psychological Testing and Psychoeducational Assessment
Psychological Testing or a Psychoeducational Assessment by a psychologist can be extremely useful
when there is lack of clarity or understanding regarding the reasons and causes of various
emotional, psychological, learning, or behavioral problems of a child or adolescent.
Psychological testing refers to the administration of standardized tasks and procedures which allow
for a sampling of behavior, in order to understand and predict a given individual's psychological,
emotional, and behavioral functioning in a variety of settings.
Psychoeducational testing, an even more comprehensive process, includes the aforementioned, as well
as an examination of cognitive functioning and learning problems, which might impact a child or
teenagers ability to be successful in school. Psychoeducational testing can help to identify the
particular learning style of a child, and determine if there is a learning disability, cognitive
difficulties, or executive functioning problems which impede the learning process. Both
psychological testing and psychoeducational testing assists the psychologist in formulating a
mental health treatment plan and/or educational intervention strategy, and educates the school and
family about a child's needs.
Psychological and psychoeducational assessment is a comprehensive evaluation process that involves
not only the administration and interpretation of psychological tests, but also involves the
integration of information from multiple sources. Such sources include child interviews,
interviews with parents, collateral information from teachers, school educational or testing
reports, medical history, as well as information from other mental health professionals who may
have provided therapy to a child or teenager.
Common reasons why a psychological or psychoeducational evaluation may be recommended include:
- Behavioral and conduct problems
- Concerns about cognitive and intellectual factors which may be leading to problems in the
learning process at school
- Learning and academic problems; learning disability
- Determine cause of attention and concentration problems, such as ADHD or otherwise
- Understanding causes of emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, social skills
deficits, low frustration tolerance or extreme anger, poor impulse control, mood instability, poor
coping or emotion regulation skills
- Speech and language problems
- Recommendations for school or residential treatment placement
- Determine eligibility for special education services
- Identify factors underlying problem behaviors
- Determine if there is a specific cause for a child's academic, social, or psychological
difficulties
In evaluating psychological and emotional functioning in children or adults, Dr. Pickar frequently
uses the following tests:
- Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Procedure
- Roberts Apperception Test or Children's Apperception Test
- Thematic Apperception Test
- Behavior Assessment System for Children - 2
- Beck Depression Inventory
- Children's Depression Inventory
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A)
- Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory - II (MMPI-II)
- Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory
- Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory - III
- Attention Deficit Disorder Evaluation Scales
- Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank
In evaluating cognitive, intellectual, IQ, and executive functioning, Dr. Pickar frequently uses
the following tests:
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - IV (WISC-IV)
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - IV (WAIS - IV)
- Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - IV (WPPSI-IV)
- Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS)
- Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test
- Beery-Buktenica Developemental Test of Visual Motor Integration
- Comprehensive Trail-Making Test
- Wide Range Achievement Test- IV (Wrat-IV)
- Gray Oral Reading Test-IV (GORT-IV)
Following the completion of the psychological evaluation, Dr. Pickar prepares a comprehensive
written report, which is reviewed in a feedback session with the parents (teenagers may also be
included at this meeting), and can also be submitted to other professionals or schools at the
parents request.
Fees
Fees for psychological testing are $180 per hour, which includes time spent in interviews,
psychological testing, test scoring and interpretation, and report writing. A psychological
assessment with report typically costs in the range of $1600 to $1800. A psychoeducational
assessment with report typically costs in the range of $2300 to $2600.
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