Psychological Testing

Psychological testing can help clarify a diagnosis and guide more specific treatment and lifestyle recommendations. If you’re feeling stuck in your current treatment, or if your therapist believes testing could help, it might be a valuable next step in your progress.

People may seek psychological and academic assessments for a variety of reasons, often to gain a better understanding of challenges related to mental health, learning, or behavior.

Parents

As a parent, you want to understand and support your child as best as you can. Sometimes, that means getting a clearer picture of how they learn, think, feel, or behave. If you’ve had a gut feeling that something isn’t quite right—or your child’s teacher has raised concerns—it may be time to explore an assessment. A psychological or academic assessment can help identify what’s going on and guide the right kind of support. Acting early often leads to better outcomes, and the process is designed to help, not label.

Below are areas where testing can be helpful.

Struggles in School

  • Learning difficulties: Your child may be falling behind in reading, writing, or math, and you’re not sure why. An assessment can identify conditions like dyslexia or other learning disorders.

  • Homework battles or poor grades: If your child avoids schoolwork or gets unexpectedly low marks, an assessment might uncover issues with attention, memory, or processing speed.

  • Giftedness: Some children are advanced and may need more challenge. Assessments can confirm if they qualify for gifted programs.

  • School accommodations: If your child needs extra time on tests or special help in class, an assessment is often the first step toward getting formal support like an IEP or 504 plan.

Attention and Behavior Concerns

  • Focus and attention problems: If your child is easily distracted, restless, or has trouble staying on task, they may benefit from an ADHD evaluation.

  • Behavioral challenges: Frequent tantrums, defiance, or impulsivity that seem more intense than typical for their age could point to an underlying issue.

  • Following routines or instructions: Difficulty with everyday tasks might signal a problem with executive functioning or self-regulation.

Emotional or Social Struggles

  • Anxiety, sadness, or mood changes: If your child seems unusually worried, down, or overwhelmed, an assessment can help figure out if there’s a mental health concern like anxiety or depression.

  • Friendship troubles: Struggles with making or keeping friends, reading social cues, or feeling isolated might suggest social or emotional challenges, including autism spectrum traits.

  • Changes after a stressful event: Big life changes—like divorce, moving, bullying, or loss—can affect how a child feels and behaves. An assessment helps you understand how deeply they’ve been impacted.

Developmental Concerns

  • Speech, motor, or social delays: If your child isn’t hitting expected milestones, early assessment can lead to early support, which is often the most effective.

  • Unusual behaviors or sensitivities: Things like repetitive behaviors, intense reactions to sounds or textures, or extreme rigidity might point to a neurodevelopmental difference.

Planning and Support

  • Clearer next steps: Assessments provide insight into what kind of help—whether therapy, tutoring, or classroom changes—will actually work for your child.

  • Tracking progress: If your child is already receiving support, assessments can show how well it’s working and whether adjustments are needed.

Clinicians

As clinicians, psychological and academic assessments are powerful tools to help us understand a client’s cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. Assessments provide objective data to inform diagnoses, guide interventions, and support decision-making in both clinical and educational contexts.

Here are key reasons you might recommend an assessment:

Diagnostic Clarification

  • Differential diagnosis: When presenting concerns overlap across conditions (e.g., ADHD vs. anxiety vs. trauma), a comprehensive assessment helps clarify the primary issue.

  • Rule in/out specific disorders: Formal testing can confirm or refute suspected conditions such as:

    ADHD, Specific learning disorders (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia), Autism spectrum disorder, Cognitive disability, and Mood or anxiety disorders.

  • Co-occurring conditions. Assessments can reveal comorbidities that may not be evident in clinical interviews alone.

Academic Concerns

  • Learning problems: When a student is underperforming academically despite adequate instruction, testing can identify cognitive or processing deficits contributing to the difficulty.

  • Eligibility for services: Assessments often serve as the basis for special education services (e.g., IEPs, 504 Plans) or academic accommodations (e.g., extended time, assistive technology).

  • Twice-exceptionality (2e): Assessments can uncover high cognitive ability alongside a learning or attention disorder, guiding appropriate support.

Emotional and Behavioral Functioning

  • Internalizing symptoms: Clients with anxiety, depression, or trauma may present with school avoidance, somatic complaints, or social withdrawal. Standardized assessment can validate clinical impressions.

  • Externalizing behaviors: For issues like impulsivity, aggression, or noncompliance, assessments can help distinguish between behavioral disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, or emotional distress.

  • Impact of stressors: Assessments can evaluate how external events (e.g., divorce, relocation, bereavement, abuse) are affecting functioning.

Developmental or Neuropsychological Concerns

  • Early developmental delays: In younger children, assessments can clarify concerns about speech/language, fine motor, or social development.

  • Neuropsychological screening: When there are concerns about memory, attention, processing speed, or executive functioning, cognitive assessments can provide a baseline and direct further intervention or referral.

  • Post-injury or medical conditions: For children or adolescents with a history of neurological injury or chronic illness, assessment helps evaluate cognitive impact.

Summary

Assessments are not simply about labeling—they’re about understanding. They provide clinicians with evidence-based insights to:

  • Diagnose accurately

  • Tailor treatment

  • Advocate for support systems

  • Empower clients and families

Individuals

If you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or misunderstood in certain areas of your life—whether in work, school, relationships, or daily functioning—a psychological or academic assessment might help you get the clarity you need. These evaluations are not just for children. Adults benefit from assessments too, often in ways that can lead to real improvements in their well-being, productivity, and self-understanding.

Here are some common reasons adults choose to be assessed:

Struggles with Focus, Organization, or Memory

  • Attention issues: You may have trouble staying focused, remembering tasks, or managing time, and wonder if ADHD or executive functioning challenges could be part of the picture.

  • Chronic disorganization: If you’re constantly overwhelmed by clutter, missed deadlines, or forgetfulness, an assessment can uncover whether there’s a cognitive basis.

  • Mental fatigue: Difficulty staying mentally alert, especially when reading, writing, or multitasking, may warrant further evaluation.

Academic or Work Performance Challenges

  • Returning to school: If you’re back in college or pursuing certification and find reading, writing, or test-taking unusually difficult, an assessment might reveal a learning difference—such as dyslexia—that went undiagnosed earlier in life.

  • Accommodations for exams or work: You may need documentation for extra time on standardized tests, licensing exams, or workplace accommodations due to a disability.

  • Career concerns: An assessment can help identify cognitive strengths and weaknesses to better align with career paths or work environments that suit you.

Emotional or Psychological Concerns

  • Anxiety, depression, or mood swings: If you’ve been struggling emotionally and want a clearer diagnosis or understanding of what’s going on, an assessment can be an important first step.

  • Burnout or stress-related symptoms: Chronic stress can affect memory, concentration, and decision-making. Assessment can help differentiate between stress-related fatigue and something more persistent.

  • Feeling “off” or unlike yourself: Sometimes, people pursue assessments when they can’t quite articulate what’s wrong—just that they’re not functioning like they used to.

Lifelong Patterns or Recent Changes

  • Undiagnosed learning or attention issues: Many adults recognize patterns in hindsight—like always needing more time to read, difficulty with mental math, or drifting off in conversations—and want to know if a formal diagnosis applies.

  • Late-identified autism or ADHD: Some adults—especially women or people who masked symptoms—begin exploring a possible diagnosis later in life, often after seeing a child or partner go through a similar process.

  • Cognitive changes: If you’ve noticed recent changes in memory, language, or processing, assessment can rule out or detect early signs of neurological or psychological conditions.

Personal Growth and Clarity

  • Better understanding of yourself: Even outside of clinical diagnoses, assessments can provide a deeper insight into your personality, thinking style, and coping strategies.

  • Tailored recommendations: Assessment results often come with specific suggestions—such as therapy options, time-management tools, or learning strategies—that can make a real difference in daily life.

Testing Offered

Academic & Psychological

ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Learning Disorders

Cognitive and Achievement Abilities

Personality Disorders

Trauma and Mood-related Concerns

Relationships

Prepare/Enrich Inventory (Pre-marital)

16PF Couples Inventory

Personality & Career

MBTI Myers-Briggs

16PF

Strong Career Assessment Inventory

Career Assessment Inventory

Testing Information

  • Psychological assessments involve collecting and integrating information to provide insights that will be useful for clients and others needing objective and in-depth feedback.

    The testing process consists of three parts: an intake session, an in-person testing session, and a thorough and individualized feedback session, including a psychological report that summarizes the testing data, provides relevant diagnoses, and specific treatment recommendations.

    Our clinicians provides a calm, comfortable and relaxing testing environment. The testing process will likely include cognitive and achievement measures, along with screening self-report and informant report measures. 

  • You do not need a referral to begin the testing process. Contact our front office to get started.

  • Psychological testing can be billed under the following insurances: BCBS, Aetna, Medcost, and CBHA. Specific co-pay or deductible fees vary by insurance provider and plan.

    There is a $250 one-time fee that is not covered under insurance to cover testing fees and supplies.