Psychological assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, personality, and capabilities.
MCS Psychiatric Clinician, Michael Delfippo works with children, adolescents, and adults (ages five and older), performing comprehensive psychiatric and psychological evaluations and utilizing both psycho-pharmacologic and brief supportive psycho-therapeutic approaches with cognitive-behavioral underpinnings. Michael has experience in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of psychiatric disorder spectrums. His knowledge and training in family practice, as well as psychiatry, add an invaluable perspective into the integrated nature of mental illness.
Psychological assessment is also referred to as psychological testing or performing a psychological battery on a person. Psychological testing is nearly always performed by a licensed psychologist, or a psychology trainee (such as an intern). Psychologists are the only profession that is expertly trained to perform and interpret psychological tests.
A part of a thorough assessment of an individual is that they also undergo a full medical examination, to rule out the possibilities of a medical, disease or organic cause for the individual’s symptoms. It’s often helpful to have this done first, before psychological testing (as it may make psychological testing moot).
After discussing your results, perhaps with feedback taken from those that live or work with you (in the case of ADHD), we are better able to evaluate what could best support our clients in how to proceed for maximum benefit to all involved.