Psychological Evaluations and Standardized Assessments
What is a psychological evaluation?
A psychological evaluation serves to document the onset, development, and course, of cognitive (e.g, memory, attention, language, etc) and psychological symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, etc.). Neuropsychology, as a subfield of psychology, focuses on brain-behavior relationships. A neuropsychological evaluation is a comprehensive examination using objective measurements to provide insight into possible causes.
Both psychological and neuropsychological evaluations begin with an interview in which the patient describes their current difficulties as well as their personal background and history. Information such as medical, social, and educational history is examined closely. The patient then completes standardized measures of different cognitive abilities (e.g., memory, attention) and their performance is compared to the typical performance of someone with a similar age, gender, and cultural background. In this way, a person’s thinking abilities can be estimated and measured on a standardized basis. A report is written considering all the information collected to provide diagnostic and treatment information to the patient or requesting stakeholder. When the evaluation is diagnostic (e.g., ADHD evaluation), a separate meeting is scheduled (usually two weeks later) where the findings are discussed and treatment recommendations are provided.
What is measured during the evaluation?
Every evaluation varies depending on the reason and the specific difficulties of the individual. Measurements may take the form of questionnaires, paper and pencil testing, and/or computerized testing. Neuropsychological evaluations common measure abilities such as:
Learning, retention, and retrieval of information (memory)
Attention and concentration
Thinking speed (processing speed)
Higher order thinking (executive functioning)
Personality and mood factors
Motivation to perform well
When may a neuropsychological evaluation be helpful?
To evaluate for ADHD (ADHS)
To evaluate for cognitive changes after a head injury or concussion
To establish, or refute, impairment of cognitive functions
To provide treatment recommendations and diagnostic clarity
To document a patient history and status to aid other medical or mental health providers
To track cognitive functioning over time (i.e., repeat measurements) when changes due to medical condition are anticipated (ex. Alzheimer’s disease)
To diagnose and document learning problems
Formal evaluations for USA Government Agencies
Psychological evaluations for the purpose of applications for support from the USA government are available (e.g., Social Security Administration, Department of Veteran Affairs). In these cases, the psychological evaluation can be performed when it is requested from the respective government agency or to serve as additional evidence in the case of reapplication. I maintain a current clinical psychologist license from the USA (MA #PSY11085) and all evaluations include the same measurements as would be provided in a domestic evaluation (e.g, WAIS 5, etc…).
Please note that Social Security Administration (SSA) disability evaluations can not be conducted until formally requested by the SSA. In these cases, the psychological evaluation can be scheduled once the formal request from the Federal Benefits Unit has been received by my office.
Please note that evaluations are currently only offered to English-speaking adults in-person in Frankfurt-am-Main.