Assessment: What it is and what it is not
Assessment Process
Starting a psychological assessment can be a big step in your mental health journey, and it may feel a bit daunting! Here’s the good news: you’re not in this alone. Whether the assessment is for personal insight, school, work, or another reason, understanding what to expect and how to prepare can help ease worry and ensure you get the most out of the experience.
Before the assessment intake, take a moment to reflect on why you’ve chosen this step. What questions do you hope an assessment psychologist can answer? Is it to better understand your mental health, explore the potential of a diagnosis, find tools for personal growth, or all of the above.
You know yourself best, and sharing what’s going on for you is valuable for interpreting your assessment. Some questions you might want to consider are:
Your challenges: What areas feel difficult right now? How long have these been a challenge for you? When did you first notice them? How have they impacted you?
Patterns: When and where have you experienced these challenges?
Your strengths: What has been helpful for you in navigating challenges and life experiences?
On the day of the assessment, make sure to you tell yourself that you are doing an incredible thing for yourself and investing in your mental health. Pack for the day with some snacks and any paperwork or previous reports your psychologist has asked you to bring. Make sure to tell the psychologist if you took medication prior to the assessment.
After the assessment you might have some questions and these are important for your psychologist to know. Please reach out to the assessing psychologist with questions and remember you’re not alone. Your psychologist is there to guide you every step of the way, answer your questions, and provide support. This is a collaborative process, and the psychologist is here to help you uncover valuable insights about yourself.
Your psychologist will reach out to you once all the testing, questionnaires, and write-up have been completed. An appointment will be scheduled to go over the results, findings, and recommendations in detail and to answer all your questions. A follow-up to this appointment is often scheduled approximately one-month later to answer any further follow-ups and to ensure the process has been helpful for you.
Assessment Process
Starting a psychological assessment can be a big step in your mental health journey, and it may feel a bit daunting! Here’s the good news: you’re not in this alone. Whether the assessment is for personal insight, school, work, or another reason, understanding what to expect and how to prepare can help ease worry and ensure you get the most out of the experience.
Before the assessment intake, take a moment to reflect on why you’ve chosen this step. What questions do you hope an assessment psychologist can answer? Is it to better understand your mental health, explore the potential of a diagnosis, find tools for personal growth, or all of the above.
You know yourself best, and sharing what’s going on for you is valuable for interpreting your assessment. Some questions you might want to consider are:
Your challenges: What areas feel difficult right now? How long have these been a challenge for you? When did you first notice them? How have they impacted you?
Patterns: When and where have you experienced these challenges?
Your strengths: What has been helpful for you in navigating challenges and life experiences?
On the day of the assessment, make sure to tell yourself that you are doing an incredible thing for yourself and investing in your mental health. Pack for the day with some snacks and any paperwork or previous reports your psychologist has asked you to bring. Make sure to tell the psychologist if you took medication prior to the assessment.
After the assessment you might have some questions and these are important for your psychologist to know. Please reach out to the assessing psychologist with questions and remember you’re not alone. Your psychologist is there to guide you every step of the way, answer your questions, and provide support. This is a collaborative process, and the psychologist is here to help you uncover valuable insights about yourself.
Your psychologist will reach out to you once all the testing, questionnaires, and write-up have been completed. An appointment will be scheduled to go over the results, findings, and recommendations in detail and to answer all your questions. A follow-up to this appointment is often scheduled approximately one-month later to answer any further follow-ups and to ensure the process has been helpful for you.
Talk-Therapy, Counselling, Psychotherapy
It all begins with an idea.
Whatever word used, it is about the relationship. A therapeutic relationship is a unique type of relationship between a client and a professional helper. An initial session typically includes a discussion of confidentiality and privacy and then some clarification around what has brought you to speak with a professional helper. Some background information on your history will be gathered and discussion will be had on hopes for the short-term and long-term. The therapist will discuss potential evidence-based options and how outcomes might be monitored as the therapeutic process unfolds.
Individual therapy is based solely on improvement in the individual seeking services. A number of approaches can be used from a single session to those that are considered life-long.
Couples counselling places the couple as the “client” and the therapist attempts to understand patterns in the relationship and then to make changes to strengthen the bond.
Family therapy places the entire family as the “client” and no one family member is considered the “problem”. The family therapist will work with the family to learn different perspectives and help the family have a shared language. Focus may be on addressing problems and conflict or aimed at strengthening the connections and often times both.
Play therapy is a unique approach in which play becomes the vehicle of change. Play can be very effective when one “doesn’t have the words to describe their experiences” and is especially effective in cases of trauma and adjustment. While the appointments may have the appearance of playing, deep work is being done to restructure the connections and lead to improved attachments and overall wellbeing.
Group therapy is when 6-8 individuals come together with the sole focus of supporting one another through whatever might arise and can be especially helpful when one is feeling isolated or otherwise disconnected from the social world. A group therapist holds the primary tasks of ensuring safety and commitment from members to help one-another through the ups and downs of life.
Similar to other relationships, it is important to speak to the ups and downs of the relationship and to work-through these. The therapist is specifically trained to hear feedback and to address this so that the therapeutic process can unfold efficiently and effectively. This conversation can be the fuel that propels therapy forward and leads to substantial and long-lasting change.