The Process of Psychological Assessment

A psychological assessment is a way of measuring information about a person’s mental health or capacity. Psychological assessments may be interview based, written or activity based.

Here are some frequently asked questions about psychological assessment. 

How to get a psychological assessment?

You do not necessarily need to have a referral to access psychological assessments, though you may choose to speak to your GP to organize a referral for this purpose. Psychologists consider the benefits and any potential downfalls of completing assessments and use ethical judgment in administering tests. Assessments may be a part of therapy (such as questionnaires about mood, symptoms, and experience of therapy). Alternatively, the assessment process may be the goal of seeking psychological therapy. In this case, there will still be time (typically an intake session) where broad information is gathered as it is important to understand context when conducting assessments for conditions such as autism and ADHD. 

Why have a psychological assessment?

Psychological assessments may have multiple purposes, such as:

1. To understand symptoms

2. To help work towards a diagnosis

3. To assess risk 

4. To gauge therapeutic progress, process, and readiness for certain techniques and goals

5. To quantify mental health for communication with other professionals and organizations 

What does a psychological assessment cover?

Psychological assessments can measure many constructs such as intelligence, memory, symptoms experienced and diagnostic possibilities. Assessments are typically used to gather information and help make sense of this data. Some assessments have a very practical, direct use, such as risk assessments which are used to understand and mitigate the likelihood of harm to a client or another party. Assessments may cover questions about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and may measure strengths and weaknesses. 

How to prepare for a psychological assessment?

If you or your child are preparing to undertake a psychological assessment you may want to gather any relevant information and bring this to the appointment. For example, any previous assessment information, as well as any specific concerns may be useful to provide. The psychologist may conduct a full intake interview where they ask many questions about the individual to be assessed, as gathering a comprehensive understanding of the person and their environment is an important part of the assessment process. 

What happens after a psychological assessment?

Psychological assessments often need to be scored and interpreted and psychologists are trained in how to understand these tools. The results of assessment will be relayed to the client in appropriate language and detail, and a report may be compiled which will have the assessment results and recommendations.