What are psychological assessments and how can they help?
Invision Psychology offers support for the evaluation of various psychological conditions, encompassing mental health issues, developmental disorders, and learning challenges.
Our assessment procedures are grounded in evidence-based psychometric tools, complemented by clinical expertise, resulting in comprehensive findings and recommendations presented in the form of a report. These reports aid in guiding further clinical decision-making.
Assessments can be invaluable for gaining insights into the root causes of psychological difficulties, formulating effective treatment plans, or accessing supplementary services.
In most cases, a multidisciplinary approach is essential, typically involving an initial consultation with your general practitioner (GP) and a review of the final report by a treating physician, such as a psychiatrist or paediatrician. This collaboration ensures a clinical diagnosis and recommendations, which may include pharmaceutical interventions and other treatment options that may go hand-in-hand with psychology intervention.
The assessment Process
Step 1. A consultation with your GP is recommended to review your initial concerns and you may be eligible for a Medicare mental health care plan for assessment and treatment of mental health concerns.
Step 2. Contact our office to start the intake process. This will involve completing our intake form and reviewing our information sheet and consent form.
Step 3. Your initial appointment will be a 1.5 hour interview to review your symptoms and history related to your presenting problem. During the interview, assessment questionnaires will either be administered or emailed to you to complete at home.
Step 3. Assessments of autism, cognitive functioning and learning difficulties involve an additional in-person session to complete performance tests.
Step 5. All of the assessment information will be reviewed and compiled into a report.
Step 6. Your psychologist will schedule a feedback session to review the assessment results and recommendations.
Step 7. You may wish to have your results reviewed by a treating physician to obtain a formal diagnosis and receive information regarding other forms of treatment such as medication.
Types of Assessment Available
Mental Health: Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and sleep disorders can be assessed to determine symptom severity and to identify criteria to support a formal diagnosis. The results from these assessments can help in formulating a treatment plan, track the progress of intervention strategies over time, and enable a treating physician to offer diagnostic clarification and consider appropriate pharmaceutical treatment options where necessary.
Cognitive Functioning: Mental abilities can be delayed or impaired from early life or may be affected by various factors in later years. Often referred to as an IQ test, this type of assessment helps identify cognitive impairments, including intellectual disability, as well as above-average abilities or giftedness. The results from different cognitive domains are compared to standardised norms to evaluate an individual’s performance relative to the general population. Results will be helpful in formulating an individualised learning plan for school children and may be required to access certain types of schools or additional support services.
Learning Difficulties: A specific learning disorder may involve impairments in reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), or mathematics (dyscalculia). This type of assessment compares results from a cognitive test with those from an academic achievement test. A significantly lower achievement score or a distinct pattern of cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses can indicate a specific learning disorder, such as dyslexia. These results can be instrumental in guiding early intervention and developing an individualised learning plan for school-age children.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Autism is a developmental condition that is present from birth and often diagnosed in children, however a diagnosis later in life is not uncommon. Due to the complexity of symptoms that occur across a spectrum, this type of assessment requires input from multiple sources and various assessment tools including a clinical interview, reports from multiple contexts such as home, school and or work, clinical observation and can include a performance test. Input from additional allied health providers such as a speech pathologist or OT can be beneficial and consultation with a paediatrician or psychiatrist will be necessary for further clinical decision making. The process of diagnosis can be beneficial for understanding an individual’s pattern of skills and abilities, to inform an individualised learning plan at school or to access additional capacity building supports.
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD): ADHD is a neurological condition that affects the development of executive brain functions. While it is often diagnosed in childhood, symptoms may go undetected until later in life. ADHD symptoms can be categorised as predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive/impulsive, or a combined presentation. Assessing ADHD requires input from multiple sources, including clinical interviews, reports from parents and teachers or significant others and behavioural observations. A review of the findings by a paediatrician or psychiatrist will be necessary for further clinical decision making and to explore pharmaceutical treatment options where necessary.
Assessment Fees
Assessment fees will include a range of services such as an initial consultation, administration of questionnaires, behavioural observation, performance testing, report writing and a feedback session.
For a detailed schedule of pricing visit the Fees page.
