How Psychological Testing Can Help You or Your Child Thrive

Have you ever wondered why some things come easily to you while others feel like an uphill battle? Or why your child is struggling in school despite being intelligent and capable? Psychological testing provides answers by identifying strengths, challenges, and the best ways to support learning, focus, and emotional well-being.

Why Psychological Testing Matters?

When I decided to pursue a career in mental health, I knew I wanted to do more than just therapy—I wanted to help people understand why they think, feel, and behave the way they do. That’s why I pursued a doctorate and specialized in psychological testing.

Testing isn’t just about getting s diagnosis. It’s about uncovering insights that empower you or your child to thrive. Whether you're seeking clarity, support, or direction, testing can provide the missing piece to the puzzle.

How Testing Can Benefit You

• Find Clarity: Sometimes, it’s hard to pinpoint what’s going on based on symptoms alone. A thorough evaluation helps distinguish between conditions like ADHD, learning differences, or anxiety, ensuring you get the right support.

• Access accommodations: If your child need extra time on tests, a quieter work environment, or additional learning support, a comprehensive evaluation can provide the documentation needed for schools and workplaces.

• Get a Personalized Roadmap: Understanding how you or your child learns, processes information, and copes with emotions allows for targeted strategies to improve focus, organization, and overall well-being.

Can you explain the process?

1️⃣ Start with a phone consultation. (See below for a list of suggested questions.)

2️⃣ Complete all intake paperwork and rating scales, if applicable.

3️⃣ Attend an initial interview where you relevant provide background information.

4️⃣ Attend the testing sessions…usually this will take place in 1-3 sessions, lasting 2-4 hours long. This will vary depending on your needs and reason for the testing.

5️⃣ The psychologist will score and interpret the data from all of the tests and write a comprehensive report with all of the information, including recommendations.

6️⃣ Attend the feedback session to learn about the findings and ask any other questions.

7️⃣ Use the information to improve you and your family’s overall well-being and seek appropriate referrals.

What Will the Results Tell Me?

The real value of testing isn’t just in the numbers—it’s in understanding what they mean.

Your Personalized Report will include:

• A breakdown of cognitive abilities, learning strengths, and challenges

• Insights into emotional well-being and behavior

• Clear recommendations for accommodations, therapy, or learning strategies

What kinds of tests are there?

• Cognitive testing: Measures thinking skills like problem-solving, memory, and processing speed to identify learning strengths and challenges.

• Academic tests: Evaluates skills in reading, writing, and math to pinpoint areas where extra support may be helpful.

• ADHD & Executive Functioning Testing: Assesses attention, focus, impulsivity, and organization skills to provide strategies for success at home, work, or school.

• Emotional and Behavioral Assessments: Looks at mood, anxiety, stress, and social skills to help tailor mental health support.

• Rating Scales & Questionnaires: Gather input from you, your child, and sometimes teachers to provide a well-rounded perspective.

How much will this cost and can I use my insurance?

• The cost can vary from typically $1000-5000. What affects the cost?

  • Provider expertise and credentials

  • Types of tests included in your evaluation

  • The level of detail in your final report

• Why don’t most providers don’t accept insurance?

  • Privacy & Confidentiality: No detailed reports are shared with insurers. In addition, your diagnosis will be kept off of your permanent medical record.

  • Faster Results: No waiting for insurance pre-authorization, so we can begin testing right away.

  • Comprehensive evaluations: No restrictions on which tests can be used or how much time we spend on your case.

• Investing in psychological testing means getting the most comprehensive, accurate assessment without insurance restrictions.

What questions should I ask in the phone consultation?

• How long will the process take?

• Do I need to prepare for testing?

• When and how will I receive my results?

• What are the costs involved?

Ready to Get Answers? Let’s Talk.

If you’re feeling unsure or overwhelmed, I’m here to help. Let’s chat! Click below to schedule your free consultation and take the first step.

Goal Setting in the New Year

happy new year!

A new year brings about new goals and resolutions. Everything begins with the best intentions, but often times we set unrealistic goals that end up leaving us feeling deflated or down on ourselves for not achieving what we “should” be able to do or were able to do in the past. I hope this post will help guide you to have the most successful year yet!

A common method for goal setting is to set SMART goals. You may have heard this acronym before and possibly with different verbiage for the letters, but the main idea stays constant. Here is the acronym that I’ve found most helpful:

SMART GOALS

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Relevant

T = Timely

A SPECIFIC goal would be identifying the aspects of your health to focus (i.e., diet and sleep). The more specific your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. The difference is simply saying, I’m going to get healthy in the new year vs. developing a plan of what steps you are going to take to improve your health.

A MEASURABLE goal is important to give yourself something to work towards that motivates you to make it to the finish line. For example, “I am going to start going to the gym” is not a measurable goal until you add, “I’m going to go to the gym 3 times per week for one hour each time.”

An ACHIEVABLE goal gives you the opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when you reach that goal. Using our gym example, committing to working out 5-6 days per week may not be feasible especially if you have not been keeping a consistent workout schedule. 2-3 days per week in the beginning is going to set you up for success.

We can make goals RELEVANT by ensuring the goal is meaningful and important to you. It makes sense that you are going to be more successful if you are working towards something that you care about and will help move you forward towards larger goals.

Lastly, a TIMELY goal is something that has a deadline in mind. Giving yourself a target helps you to stick with your goal and gives you a timeframe to complete it. If you decide to lose 30 pounds in 6 months, then you can monitor to see if you are on track around month 3 if you are 15 pounds down.

set your goals

Create one personal, one professional, one social and one altruistic goal for the year. Try to find a balance in life, knowing that you don’t have to focus on all goals at once.

Getting Started With Therapy

One of the greatest barriers to getting help from a mental health professional is feeling overwhelmed about where and how to find someone. My hope in writing this guide is to help alleviate some of the stress and fear of the unknown. Having previously worked at a mental health resource and referral helpline, I gained a wealth of knowledge that I am happy to pass along!

Step 1: Figuring out what you need help with.

This is the main reason you are looking for a therapist. Sometimes we have experienced anxiety or depression for awhile and were managing it just fine on our own and then something happened and it became harder and harder to deal with on our own. Other times, something major or life changing happens and you are looking for support to cope with something you’ve never had to deal with before. Either way, you made the tough and scary decision to start looking for a therapist. This is so important to know what you are needing help with so you can find someone with that area of expertise. You don’t need to know the name or diagnosis of your problem as long as you can describe your symptoms. If you know you need help and support, but are not able to pinpoint the exact area, your therapist should be able to guide you in this process.

Step 2: Figuring out your financial situation/insurance.

We hope that finances never become a barrier for those seeking mental health treatment, but let’s face it, everyone has bills to pay. Sometimes we face financial hardships and paying out of pocket is not in the cards. Luckily, there are a few options to consider for how to pay for your mental health treatment:

1)   Private pay/out-of-pocket: If you have the financial means to pay out of pocket, this is a great option since you have the freedom to see any mental health professional you want. You don’t have to worry about your mental health information being shared with your insurance company or worry about number of session limits.

2)   Insurance: While insurance is open the most cost effective way to seek services, it can be quite difficult to find a provider in-network with your insurance provider. Depending on your insurer and plan, you may have out-of-network behavioral health benefits, which means they will reimburse you for part of your sessions. This is a great option since you can pick any provider you want to and all you have to do is ask your provider for a “superbill.” The superbill includes the type of service offered and how much you paid. I will be writing a future post about working with your insurance company for out-of-network services.

3)   Low rate:

a.     Open Path Psychotherapy Collective: I am a member of Open Path. This is a non-profit organization committed to accessible mental health. They have a database of mental health providers committed to offering low fee services for those in financial need. You can become a lifetime member for a one-time fee as long as your income qualifies you for low cost services. You will then have access to their database of providers offering low cost services.

b.     Sliding Scale: Many providers reserve a few spots in their schedule for sliding scale clients. This includes reduced session rates for those in financial need. All you have to do is ask if they offer sliding scale services. 

Step 3: How to find a therapist & who to choose. 

This step can be extremely overwhelming, especially if you just get a list from your insurance company or go on the website for a large mental health directory (i.e. Psychology Today or Good Therapy):

• One of the first things to look for is if the provider lists your concern as an area of specialty. You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist for an ear issue. Treat your mental health with the same caution.

• Does their profile seem up to date? You know I’m talking about those people when you can tell their last picture was taken in the 1980s!

• Do they offer a free phone consultation? If not, how are you supposed to get a feel if they are going to be a good fit. More on the importance of this below.

• Be cautious using on sites with ratings and reviews to pick your provider (i.e. Yelp, Vitals). There are many organizations that will write a bad review and then contact you to pay them to have your negative review removed. I’ve also seen many mental health providers with reviews from friends and family.

Step 4: What to ask in your initial phone consultation? What to look out for? What to ask therapist?

At this point, you’ve researched and maybe reached out to a couple of potential therapists. You finally hear back from one to schedule a phone consultation. You can tell so much about a person from a 15 minute phone call. Use this as an opportunity to evaluate the therapist and be aware of your gut reaction. Here are some ways to prepare for your phone call.

• Question to ask:

  • What treatment modality do you use (i.e. CBT, DBT)? How might that look in a session? I’ll go into more detail in future blogs spotlighting various treatment modalities.

  • How frequently do you schedule sessions?

  • What are your rates? Do you take insurance? Do you provide superbills to submit to my insurance company for reimbursement?

  • What is your experience with my presenting problem (i.e. anxiety, depression)?

  • How do you involve the family in your work with children and teens?

• What to observe:

  • Does this person guide the conversation? The therapist is the expert and most likely has more experience with this sort of thing than you do so do they frame the call or do they let you start talking?

  • How is this person’s tone? Matter of fact? Business-like? Compassionate? Warm? Friendly?

  • Are they able to answer your questions in a confident way?

  • Is this person easy to talk to? Do you feel heard?

  • Does this person seem rushed?

  • Do you feel pressured to book an appointment right then and there?

Step 5: Consider your options before booking your appointment.

If you have been trusting your instincts and gut reaction to this point, you may already know by the end of the phone call if you want to meet this therapist in person. If you do, great!  There’s no harm in booking the appointment during your initial consultation.  

If you are still unsure about starting the therapy process or if this person is the best fit for you, then sleep on it. You are under no obligation to book with that therapist. The only downside is that that person may not have many openings and you could risk losing the opportunity to work with them. But it may be worth thinking about it rather than rushing into a commitment.