Often when someone contacts me for a psychological evaluation, their health insurance requires me to request authorization before starting testing. The reason the insurance companies give is that they want to make sure that the evaluation is “medically necessary” before agreeing to pay for it. But what exactly does it mean for testing to beContinue reading “Let’s Talk About The Phrase “Medically Necessary””
Tag Archives: psychological evaluation
How To Ask for a Psychological Evaluation
If you have followed this blog for a while, you will be familiar with various series I have written on the many facets of mental health. I have had some great feedback on my posts about psychological evaluations, figuring out what you want to learn from an evaluation, and various types of assessments. I alsoContinue reading “How To Ask for a Psychological Evaluation”
Psychological Evaluation 101: Court Ordered Assessments
Lately I have gotten a number of referrals for a type of evaluation that I do not offer, so I thought I would talk a bit about what makes these types of evaluations unique to help readers identify the right provider. Today I will share with you what it means to receive an assessment thatContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: Court Ordered Assessments”
Psychological Evaluation 101: What Is A Neuropsychological Assessment?
I would like to give a HUGE shout out and thank you to Dr. Renee Madathil and Dr. Jessica Serbel for talking to me about neuropsych. Dr. Madathil is an assistant professor at the University of Rochester in New York who does this type of assessment, and Dr. Serbel is a licensed psychologist who completesContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: What Is A Neuropsychological Assessment?”
Psychological Evaluation 101: Health Insurance and Psych Assessments
Thank you for checking out my series on psychological assessments! My goal in writing this series was to help people who don’t have years of graduate training understand what an assessment is and what information they might seek from an evaluation. As of right now, this is my final planned post in this series, thoughContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: Health Insurance and Psych Assessments”
Psychological Evaluation 101: What Are Projective Tests?
(If you want me to write about more types of psychological evaluations, please let me know!) Projective tests are a type of personality assessment that uses ambiguous stimuli to get information about things you might not be consciously aware of. They can involve having you respond to images, create drawings, or say the first responseContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: What Are Projective Tests?”
Psychological Evaluation 101: Autism
Language note: although everyone has individual preferences, the overall consensus at the time that I am writing this post is that people in the Autism community prefer to be referred to as “Autistic people” rather than “people with Autism,” so that is the language I will use in this post. Last week I talked aboutContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: Autism”
Psychological Evaluation 101: ADHD
One of the most common referral questions I get for psychological evaluations is for ADHD, so I thought I would speak a bit about what an evaluation for ADHD looks like. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder, meaning that the brain of a person with ADHD has structural differences compared to a brain that doesContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: ADHD”
Psychological Evaluation 101: Psych Assessments and Kids
Like adults, children get referred for psychological evaluations for many different reasons. Usually, the kids I evaluate are sent in from one of three places: If your child’s teacher recommends an evaluation, or if you suspect your child will require special education services, check with the school’s education planning committee to see if they willContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: Psych Assessments and Kids”
Psychological Evaluation 101: Learning Disorder Assessments
When I was a graduate intern, I did about 200 learning disorder assessments for school kids in Arkansas, to the point that I could pretty much complete one in my sleep (and if dreams count, I often did). Learning disorders (like dyslexia) occur when someone struggles to take in and comprehend new information like theyContinue reading “Psychological Evaluation 101: Learning Disorder Assessments”