What to expect during your appointment
Some helpful tips for older youth and adults regarding the assessment process.
My office manager, Kristin, will be your contact person for scheduling and billing.
For adults: Prior to your appointment, you will receive an email that will include a link to my Simple Practice website to complete forms about yourself . I will also request that you provide me with the name and email of another person who knows you well that can complete a questionnaire about your everyday living skills.
For older youth and adults: Assessments are usually conducted in 3 parts (during one appointment): Interview of your history (this also includes reviewing records), Psychological Testing (the more structured portion of the appointment; batteries are dependent on referral question), and Feedback (this is when we will discuss diagnosis and associated recommendations).
During the Testing portion of the appointment, we will usually be sitting across a desk from one another. Typically, we will start with an exam that measures cognition during which I will be asking you questions (such as what a word means, for example), requesting that you point to pictured items, and asking you to copy designs with a set of blocks. After that we will move into more interview-style conversation so that I can get to know you better, asking questions about your friendships, work history, and emotional experiences. You may request a break anytime you need one.
Diagnosis is not always clear after the first 2 parts of the process. In those cases, I like to do additional observations and/or consult with other professionals to acquire more data. Feedback will occur after these additional steps are complete. You can usually expect a full report of my findings sent to your referral source within 2 weeks of our feedback session.