Psychological Evaluation
Synergy's Clinical Psychologists conduct psychological evaluations for children, adolescents and adults. Psychological assessment is a process that helps uncover the variables that are contributing to an individual's symptoms or difficulties. The goal is to better understand the nature of the problem and to make useful, practical recommendations about what to do next.
Psychological evaluations can help when there are difficulties related to mood, learning, behavior, relationships, and development. The Psychologist works together with the client (alongside family members and other providers) to gather information about things like the client's learning style, his or her personality, the way in which he or she tends to manage and express feelings, the client's sense of self, and his or her style of interacting with others.
Psychological Evaluations can address:
- Diagnostic Clarification
- Treatment Approach and Guidelines
- Personality Functioning
- Social/Emotional Functioning
- Intellectual Functioning
- Learning Style
- Risk Assessment (ex. firesetting)
The assessment process involves several meetings with the Psychologist, during which she will learn more about the client and the nature of the problem by talking with the client (and for young children, playing), administering a battery of formal tests, talking with family members and other providers (like teachers, doctors, etc.). On some occasions, evaluations include observation of the client in another setting, such as school. Once the data has been collected, the Psychologist will prepare a comprehensive written report that discusses the results and makes specific recommendations aimed at improving the client's quality of life at home, work, school, with regard to relationships and emotional well-being. Reports are individual to each client and are not template or computer generated. The evaluation results and report is shared with the client in person during a feedback session. The Psychologist can also be available to share evaluation results with school systems and other providers as needed.
Synergy Psychologists are committed to working at the client's pace and accommodating each person's individual style. As such, the length of sessions and the number of sessions required for an evaluation vary significantly. Similarly, each evaluation is customized to fit an individual's specific circumstances, the presenting problem, and the nature of the questions the client is looking to have answered.