If you want something more wide-ranging than psychological testing, we can provide a comprehensive psychological evaluation. A comprehensive psychological assessment is a thorough assessment that aims to gather detailed information about your psychological functioning, emotional well-being, Intelligence Quotient (IQ), and overall mental health. The full psych evaluation typically involves a combination of standardized tests, clinical interviews, observation, and sometimes collaboration with other professionals or sources (such as teachers or family members).
We provide comprehensive psychological assessments as a core part of our services. Your evaluation will be uniquely pulled together depending on your goals for testing and the questions you want answered, but here is a general overview to give you an idea of the process. Contact us anytime for more information. We can often start with a short mental wellness test or psychological screening test to determine if a comprehensive battery of tests is warranted.
Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Components
A comprehensive psychological evaluation may include:
- Clinical Interview: This is a face-to-face conversation between you and us to discuss your personal history, current concerns, and symptoms.
- Standardized Tests: These are a central part of a comprehensive psychological evaluation. These measure important aspects of cognitive functioning, personality traits, emotional well-being, and specific mental health conditions.
- Behavioral Observation: We accomplish this important part in two ways: First, we observe your behavior throughout the evaluation, and second, we ask you to note your behavior in different contexts.
- Medical and Psychosocial History: Another important part of a full psych evaluation is gathering information about your medical history, family background, and other relevant factors that may impact your mental health.
- Collateral Information: Often, we obtain input from other sources, such as family members, teachers, or healthcare professionals like a therapist, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of your situation. Of course we do not do this without your permission which includes asking you what it is okay for us to talk about.
Other aspects of a Comprehensive Psychological Assessment
Depending on what questions you are looking to answer and what we find as we go along, we may add new standardized tests and questionanaires, or ask you to do specific peieces of homework that answer certain questions.
Purposes of a Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation
The purpose of a comprehensive psychological evaluation can vary but commonly include: 
- Diagnosis: Identifying and diagnosing mental health conditions or disorders is a common reason for a comprehensive psychological assessment, especially when a person suspects that they have an undiagnosed mental health issue or when they have a complex set of symptoms that they are looking to understand better. It is also common when a person hopes to get official accommodations at school or work.
- Treatment Planning: a comprehensive psychological evaluation can inform the development of an appropriate treatment plan tailored to your needs. This can make individual therapy more effective and productive and guide self-help strategies. A comprehensive psychological evaluation goes beyond a diagnosis and covers the specific causes of your symptoms and what maintains them.
- Educational or Vocational Planning: A full psych evaluation provides insights into your strengths, opportunities, and challenges for educational planning or vocational purposes. They can suggest accommodations and interventions and guide you to the subjects and responsibilities that match your strengths.
Other Purposes
A comprehensive psychological assessment can also be used in forensic settings to help you decide whether to speak on your own behalf or more general forensic evaluations related to trauma, in a social context to help you understand how to relate best and find people you’ll connect with, and at home to help you manage stress and responsibilities.
Sometimes people come in for a comprehensive psychological evaluation at intervals after other testing has been done in order to assess the effects of any workplace accommodations, interventions, self-help, or therapy. Some tests cannot be given too soon after they are originally given due to practice effects, but we may be able to find alternatives.
Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Results
Results of a comprehensive psychological assessment can include a variety of information depending on the purpose and scope of the evaluation. Here are some common elements that we often include in the report:
- Diagnostic Information: If the comprehensive psychological assessment is focused on diagnosing a mental health condition, the results may include information about any identified disorders or conditions. This part may include diagnoses where you or your child met the full criteria and diagnoses that are possible but require more information.
- Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Assessments of cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, are frequently part of a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. Even when these are not the central reason you wanted the evaluation, they can be helpful in many areas.
- Personality Assessment: This part of the comprehensive diagnostic evaluation can involve the assessment of personality traits, coping mechanisms, and emotional regulation. This is also a very common part of this type of assessment.
- Emotional Functioning: Information about emotional well-being, mood, and affect may be included if your questions concern a wide variety of social, emotional, or even executive functioning issues. Emotions can interfere with functioning at work, school, and home, so assessing their role is important.
- Behavioral Observations: Behavior observations in various settings may be documented to provide insight into an individual’s functioning. Thus, as part of the full psych evaluation, we may ask adults to self-observe using structured journals, or, with your permission, we may ask to talk to others in your life who have seen you in various circumstances. For children, we may ask parents and teachers to observe and report on certain behaviors.
- Interpersonal Relationships: Evaluations often explore an individual’s relationships and social interactions. We follow some of the same processes in this area as we do for behavioral observations, focusing on social situations.
What Will Be In the Report
The psychological testing report you will receive after the comprehensive psychological evaluation will include a summary of the testing results, recommendations based on the findings, and recommendations for treatment, therapy, or interventions. We focus on strengths and challenges, pointing out opportunities for growth and success and what could stand in the way. The goal is to find ways to remove or at least limit the effects of barriers.
It’s important to note that the specific elements included in a psychological evaluation report can vary based on the nature of the assessment, the presenting concerns, and the goals of the evaluation. Our goal is always to ensure we fully understand why you want testing and all the questions you want answered through our work together.
Full Psych Evaluation Example
John is a 34-year-old who was referred for a full psych evaluation by his therapist and primary care physician due to concerns about ongoing depressive symptoms, anxiety, and difficulties with concentration and memory. The referral aims to clarify his diagnosis and guide treatment planning.
Full Psych Evaluation Background Information
John Doe was born full-term without complications, and developmental milestones were reportedly achieved on time. There is no history of significant childhood illnesses or hospitalizations. He attended public schools and was a solid student. He completed high school and pursued a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He reports no history of learning difficulties, though he mentions recent difficulties with concentration and memory.
John has been a sales manager for the past five years. He reports increased stress at work and has noticed a decline in his job performance, attributing it to his mental health concerns. He reports a history of depression, first identified in his early 20s. He has been on and off antidepressant medications and has participated in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the past. He also reports ongoing anxiety, which has worsened over the past year.
There is a family history of depression and anxiety. His mother has been treated for depression, and his father for generalized anxiety disorder. No history of psychosis or substance abuse was reported in the family.
John is married and has two children. He reports a supportive relationship with his wife but admits that his symptoms have strained their relationship. He has a few close friends and is generally socially active, though he has recently withdrawn.
Comprehensive Psychological Assessment Methods
- Clinical Interview: We will provide structured and unstructured interviews with John and his wife to gather relevant history and symptomatology.
- Behavioral Observations: We will observe John during the interview and testing sessions, looking for signs of reduced energy, concentration, or attention
- Standardized Psychological Tests: Given the referral questions, we will give the following battery of tests as part of this full psych evaluation:
- Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)
- Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV)
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)
- Trail Making Test (TMT)
Behavioral Observations
John appeared well-groomed and appropriately dressed. Throughout the comprehensive psychological assessment, he was motivated, though he appeared somewhat tired and reported feeling “on edge.” His speech was normal in rate and tone, but his affect was restricted, and he appeared mildly anxious. He maintained good eye contact and was engaged in the testing process. His thought processes were coherent, but he struggled to concentrate during certain tasks.
Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Results
- Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II): Moderate to severe depressive symptoms.
- Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI): Moderate anxiety.
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV): All scores High Average or better, except Processing Speed, which was significantly lower
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2): Elevated scores on the Depression (D), Psychasthenia (Pt), and Social Introversion (Si) scales. The profile suggests significant depressive symptoms, high levels of anxiety and worry, and a tendency towards social withdrawal.
- Trail Making Test (TMT): Performance was within the average range on TMT Part A but slightly below average on TMT Part B, indicating some difficulty with cognitive flexibility and task-switching.
Full Psych Evaluation Diagnostic Impressions
DSM-5 Diagnoses: Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent, Moderate; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Rule Out: Cognitive Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) (related to processing speed and memory concerns)
John presents with a history of depressive and anxiety symptoms, which have worsened in the past year, impacting his work performance and personal life. The evaluation indicates moderate to severe depression and moderate anxiety, with mild cognitive difficulties related to processing speed and memory.
Comprehensive Psychological Assessment Recommendations
- Psychotherapy: Continued cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with a focus on managing depressive and anxiety symptoms. Consider incorporating elements of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
- Medication Management: Consultation with a psychiatrist to evaluate the need for adjustment or continuation of current antidepressant medication.
- Cognitive Rehabilitation: Engage in cognitive exercises or rehabilitation to address mild processing speed and memory difficulties.
- Lifestyle Modifications: Encourage regular physical activity, a structured daily routine, and stress management techniques, such as relaxation exercises.
- Follow-Up: Schedule a six-month follow-up evaluation to monitor progress and adjust the treatment plan as necessary, though another full psych evaluation will not be necessary.
Summary and Our Work
A comprehensive psychological evaluation can provide important information about many aspects of life. This information can be helpful in formal ways, such as suggesting accommodations at work and school, and less formal ways, such as helping you get the most out of therapy or your social and family life.
Comprehensive Psychological Evaluation Process
It’s important to note that the specific components and focus of a full psychological evaluation may vary based on your presenting concerns and the goals of the assessment. We will review everything when we first meet and ensure our plan fully matches your needs. We will answer your questions throughout your testing to ensure we are progressing correctly. Often, we add tests as we go and learn more about what might be helpful.
Please contact us or schedule a consultation to discuss how a comprehensive psychological evaluation might benefit you or your child, or to learn how to get a psychological evaluation from us or anyone else.
