Psychological testing

At Well & Being for Women we offer psychological testing. This testing is the process of evaluating a women's mental health and behavioral functioning through the use of standardized tests, observations, and other methods. This form of testing is used to diagnose mental health conditions, determine appropriate treatment options, and measure progress in treatment. Psychological testing offers greater insight into a client's level of cognitive, social and emotional levels of functioning, personality features, trauma, addictions, and treatment plan recommendation. As part of our treatment recommendations, once clients have been initially evaluated, psychological testing is recommended to help diagnose potential mental health conditions, and develop a more comprehensive treatment plan tailored to the clients's individual needs.

Most broadly, psychological evaluation involves an objective manner in which one’s “psychological functioning” is assessed. An “objective” way of testing involves comparing one’s responses to standardized measures (in which every respondent is given the same measure or responds to tests that are administered in the same way) to normative group (usually based on the person’s age) to see how well they are functioning compared to their age peers. Generally psychological testing is similar to standardized testing.

Emotional and Personality Functioning Evaluation

At Well & Being for Women we may recommend psychological testing, which can alos be referred to as psychological evaluations, to help understand a women’s emotional and/or personality functioning. These form of testing helps guide a women's treatment in a more comprehensive way in a shorter amount of time (instead of over several therapy sessions). Results from these measures can help with recommendations for mental health treatment, such as with use of medications and/or for therapy types. Findings can also help guide other referrals, such as to other specialists (such as a psychiatrist/neurologist).

Types of Psychological Testing

At our practice we commonly recommend psychological testing, as follows:

Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PCL-5)
Beck Depressioon Inventory (BDI-II)
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)
Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)
Beck Suicide Intent Scale (BSIS)
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3)
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV)
Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI)
Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventories, Adult and Adolescent (SASSI-4 and SASSI-A3)

Why is psychological testing important?

There are several reasons why psychological testing is important:

Identify mental health conditions and other issues that may be impacting thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Provides a more complete understanding of strengths and weaknesses, which can be useful in making decisions about treatment and support.
Diagnose conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), among others.
Used to assess a cognitive abilities, such as memory, problem-solving skills, and intellectual functioning.
Give consideration of underlying causes of a symptoms and provide a basis for developing a treatment plan that is tailored to their needs.
Monitor progress while in treatment and make any necessary adjustments.
Offer a better understanding to the nature struggles and the options available for addressing them.

The Weight of Psychological Testing

A final consideration for any kind of psychological assessment is this: while testing is often sought after to diagnose a condition or to understand one’s possible difficulties in any area of functioning, it is also important to learn what a women’s strengths are. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses relative to their own abilities; it is helpful to inform women from testing of what their strengths are and how to use these to compensate for any documented weaknesses they may have. Information helps empower people to develop and grow, and results obtained from psychological assessment can help women be more informed as to how to proceed with utilizing their cognitive and/or emotional strengths to help improve their mental health overall.

Psychological testing