.Psychologists are often asked to conduct psychological assessments and to produce a report for a wide range of situations which can include:
Legal Circumstances:
A client may have been charged with an offence and may be required to attend court. Given the seriousness of the charge and possible penalty, the client's lawyer will often contact a psychologist to conduct an assessment of the client to obtain a better understanding of the client's personality and functioning and the reasons an event may have occured. The court generally wants to know the degree to which the offence is genuinely regreted and will be appreciative of a professional opinion as to whether the offence is likely to occur again. Recommendations for professional counselling or conflict management training may also be made if indicated.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
When you have sustained significant physical injuries requiring a long period of treatment, there are often psychological symptoms that emerge, most typically, depression,frequently post traumatic stress and, very often, significant driving anxiety or a complete avoidance of driving.
You are entitled to treatment for significant psychological symptoms. However, most often your insurance adjuster will require you to have a psychological assessment first. I follow a specific protocol to see if approval can be obtained. If approved, the psychologist conducts the assessment and then submits the assessment report and then a treatment plan for review and hopefully, approval. If approved, your insurer will pay the costs of a fixed number of treatment sessions with a psychologist.On occasion consideration may be give to exending the number of treatment sessions.
Disputed Disability Claims
There are also situations where there is a dispute between the client and the insurer. These disputes if not resolved may require the client to seek out legal representation. In these situations either the insurer or the legal representative may request a psychological assessment report if the client's emotional well-being and psychological functioning is in dispute. The client may feel they require addtional treatment but the insurer may be reluctant or question the necessity of more treatment.
Vocational Assessments
Vocational assessments help students choosing a first career or adults seeking career transition or enhancement make a more informed and realistic choice. Some seek out a vocational assessment to help guide them to make a suitable educational program choice.
Interest, Aptititude,Personality Testing , Work-Style Preference and Problem Solving Skills are assessed. The results are discussed and lead to clearly defined areas for further investigation.
We also define the work/ career requirements an individual has. This is typically a 9 hour process. It is recommended that it be conducted over a one month period.
COMMON ELEMENTS in the PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Assessments typically include a lengthy clinical interview and especially selected standardized tests and psychologicl inventories which the client completes. Psychologists have to purchase tests and sometimes choose to pay for scoring services. Test results are analyzed and sometimes the psychologist will have some questions about your results. A report is prepared and often reviewed with the client. Changes or modifications are sometimes necessary. The final copy is directed to the lawyer or insurance adjuster requesting the report . In all cases the client has to give written permission to conduct the assessment and be fully informed as to how it will be used and how it could impact on the client's situation. This is referred to as informed consent.
Assessments generally take a minimum of 9 hours to conduct and prepare the final report. The cost of the assessment is billed on an hourly basis.
