Frequently asked questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What to expect
If you or your child has been referred for psychological testing, you probably have some questions about what to expect. Or you may have heard about psychological testing and wonder if you or your child should be tested. Psychological testing may sound intimidating, but it's designed to help you. Psychological testing isn't like taking a multiple-choice exam that you either pass or fail. Rather, psychologists use information from the various tests and assessments to reach a specific diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.
In many ways, psychological testing and assessment are similar to medical tests. If a patient has physical symptoms, a primary care provider may order X-rays or blood tests to understand what's causing those symptoms. The results of the tests will help inform and develop a treatment plan. Psychological evaluations serve the same purpose. Psychologists use tests and other assessment tools to measure and observe a client's behavior to arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment.
Psychologists administer tests and assessments for a wide variety of reasons. Children who are experiencing difficulty in school, for example, may undergo aptitude testing or tests for learning disabilities. Tests for skills such as dexterity, reaction time and memory can help a neuropsychologist diagnose conditions such as brain injuries or dementia. If a person is having problems at work or school, or in personal relationships, tests can help a psychologist understand whether he or she might have issues with anger management or interpersonal skills, or certain personality traits that contribute to the problem. Other tests evaluate whether clients are experiencing emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression.
The underlying cause of a person's problems isn't always clear. For example, if a child is having trouble in school, does he or she have a reading problem such as dyslexia? An attention problem such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Difficulty with impulse control? Psychological tests and assessments allow a psychologist to understand the nature of the problem, and to figure out the best way to go about addressing it.
Tests and Assessments
Tests and assessments are two separate but related components of a psychological evaluation. Psychologists use both types of tools to help them arrive at a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Testing involves the use of formal tests such as questionnaires or checklists. These are often described as “norm-referenced” tests. That simply means the tests have been standardized so that test-takers are evaluated in a similar way, no matter where they live or who administers the test. A norm-referenced test of a child's reading abilities, for example, may rank that child's ability compared to other children of similar age or grade level. Norm-referenced tests have been developed and evaluated by researchers and proven to be effective for measuring a particular trait or disorder. A psychological assessment can include numerous components such as norm-referenced psychological tests, informal tests and surveys, interview information, school or medical records, medical evaluation and observational data. Assessments may also include interviewing other people who are close to the client, such as teachers, coworkers or family members. (Such interviews, however, would only be performed with written consent from the client.) Together, testing and assessment allows a psychologist to see the full picture of a person's strengths and limitations.
Psychological tests are not one-size-fits-all. Psychologists pick and choose a specific set of assessments and tests for each individual client. The testing and assessment process will help ensure that the client receives treatment that's tailored to his or her individual needs. Remember, psychological testing and assessment is nothing to fear. It's not something you need to study for. Rather, it's an opportunity for you to get the hope and clarity you’ve been searching for.
2. So, what specifically does Dr. Long evaluate in this longer, comprehensive testing process?
The comprehensive assessment process we utilize assesses for Executive Functioning impairment, Cognitive Functioning, Mood Disorders, and Personality Disorders. It is standardized testing and is composed of a customized battery of objective and subjective measures.
For Learning Disability evaluations, we assess four areas of functioning: Cognition, Educational Achievement, Perception and Emotional Functioning. If you are using insurance, it is important to note that they do not deem educational testing “medically necessary,” so this is always an additional out of pocket expense. You are not required to do achievement testing as part of the testing battery.
3. What is the timeline?
Our timeline from intake to feedback averages around eight weeks.
4. Why should parents consider private testing instead of having testing done by their local school district?
The primary goal for testing completed by public schools is determining eligibility for Special Education services. Thus, if a student is truly struggling academically, but his or her skills do not meet state or federal criteria (e.g., fall 1 ½ standard deviations below their peer group), the work of the School Psychologist/Child Study Team is essentially done. They may make some suggestions, in some instances, for possible areas of intervention; but, even when they do, these tend to be quite limited, in my experience. In fact, those students who generally have received (again, in my experience) almost no support have been those who are perceived by Child Study Teams to be "average" or low average, even if such an observation is not actually correct about a student. Public School Child Study Teams have tended, especially in more recent times of shrinking budgets, to focus most of their efforts/interventions on students in the extremes (i.e., very high, or very low functioning).
The goal of my testing is to determine how a student learns the best, and what types of interventions and strategies are needed for a student to achieve his or her true personal and cognitive potential. Additionally, because we use health insurance, we are also looking at things the school doesn’t look at like mood disorders, adhd, etc. School testing ends up being a lot of testing, but not a lot of conclusions- leaving parents more confused than when they started.
5. What if Dr. Long does not find anything wrong with me or my child?
The goal of the comprehensive assessment process is to determine an individual’s unique personality, overall functioning, learning style, and learning needs, not "what's wrong." So, no one finishes the assessment process without a detailed set of interventions and strategies.
8. What about the written report?
My reports are generally 30-50 pages in length. My reports are longer not because I am more verbose at this point in my career, but because I have learned that if suggestions are not spelled out in length, you may not be certain of how to implement them. Also, if recommendations are not full length, students are not protected in their districts. Further, I leave all the testing in that was performed so that should you decide to repeat testing in a few years, that psychologist can see what was already done and even measure performance over time.
10. What is the youngest age you are able to test?
We generally test ages 7 and up. Around 50% of my assessments are given to children, adolescents, and teens and 50% to adults needing diagnostic clarity for themselves. Some are concerned about the possibility of having ADHD or other mood disorders. I also have conducted 7000+ pre-operative psychological evaluations for spinal cord stimulator and gastric sleeve surgeries.
11. Is there anyone that you can not test?
Yes, there are some situations where our practice is not the best fit. The assessment process requires an individual to sit through several hours of testing and have some level of insight to answer questions about their experience. Therefore, we are unable to test anyone that is experiencing active psychosis, paranoia, or hallucinations. Additionally, we do not test anyone with a history of violence to support and ensure the safety of our staff. It is also important to understand that we are not forensic psychologists so we do not assess for competency, capacity, custody, or court ordered testing. In these situations we would refer you or your child out to a more suitable practice or facility. We do not provide autism evaluations, but a list of providers who do can be found here.
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Phone: (949) 617-0252 x1
Email: claritycaliforniapt@gmail.com