Psychological testing is a structured and collaborative process designed to help you better understand how a person’s mind works, how they experience themselves and the world, and what may be contributing to the challenges they are facing.

It is understandable to feel unsure, skeptical, or conflicted about the process. In my assessment approach, testing is not just about results- it is about meaning. The goal is clarity, insight, and self‑understanding, not judgment. Psychological testing is not something done to you or your child-it is a process done with you.

Depending on you or your child/teen’s concerns, testing may help us understand:

• Attention and executive functioning (focus, organization, working memory, mental flexibility)

• Learning and memory (how you or your child takes in, stores, and retrieves information)

• Emotional functioning (mood, anxiety, stress responses, emotion regulation)

• Coping and personality patterns (relational patterns, self‑perception, how one responds to pressure, expectations, or feedback)

• Neurodevelopmental traits (such as ADHD)

• Impact of trauma or chronic stress on thinking, emotions, and behavior

Not every evaluation looks at all areas. Testing is tailored to and guided by your goals, questions, and what you are hoping to better understand about yourself.

1. It helps explain Why things feel hard: Psychological testing helps bring clarity to experiences that may have felt confusing, overwhelming, or hard to explain. Rather than focusing on a single symptom or diagnosis, assessment looks at underlying patterns and how different areas of functioning interact over time.

2. It clarifies what is most central: Because many concerns can look similar on the surface (such as anxiety, ADHD, trauma, or burnout) a comprehensive evaluation helps clarify what is most central, offering a more accurate understanding of what may be driving current challenges.

3. It provides language, meaning, and validation: For both adults and parents, testing often provides language and validation, reducing self-blame and supporting greater self-understanding and compassion. Many people find relief in being able to name experiences they or their child have carried for years.

4. It highlights strengths alongside challenges: Assessment places equal emphasis on strengths, resources, and resilience. Understanding what works well is just as important as identifying areas of difficulty and helps create a more balanced and respectful picture.

5. It guides more targeted support and intentional next steps: Because testing is grounded in understanding the individual’s unique patterns, results can help guide therapy, coping strategies, accommodations, or next steps in a way that feels more intentional, personalized, and effective.

While the structure is similar across evaluations, the process is tailored based on whether the assessment is for a child/teen or an adult.

1. Initial Diagnostic Interview: The process begins with a diagnostic interview focused on understanding history, current concerns, and the questions you are hoping testing will help answer.

• For children and adolescents, this appointment is most often held with parents or caregivers and includes a detailed developmental, medical, educational, and family history, along with discussion of current functioning at home and school.

• For adults, the interview focuses on personal history, lived experiences, and current concerns, helping to clarify goals for the evaluation.

This step ensures that testing is grounded in context and informed by real-life experiences—not just test performance.

2. In Office Testing Session(s): Testing is conducted in person and is typically scheduled about one week after the diagnostic interview. During this/these appointment(s), a range of assessment measures is selected based on the referral questions and information gathered in the interview. This usually includes some combination of the following:

• Standardized questionnaires

• Structured tasks

• Problem-solving activities

• Drawing and story telling tasks

• Behavioral observations

Across all evaluations, attention is given not only to scores, but also to behavior, effort, emotional regulation, and patterns that emerge during testing.

3. Feedback Session: Usually 2-3 weeks after the final testing session, we meet for a feedback appointment. This is a collaborative conversation where results are reviewed in a clear and accessible way.

• For child/teen assessments, feedback focuses on helping parents understand their child’s strengths and challenges and discussing practical recommendations to support functioning at home, school, and in relationships.

• For adults, feedback emphasizes insight, self-understanding, and how the findings connect to current experiences and next steps.

The goal of feedback is clarity, validation, and direction—not overwhelm.

A comprehensive written report is also provided upon completion of the testing process. The report integrates background information, assessment findings, interpretations, and individualized recommendations.

Reports are designed to be thorough yet readable, and may be shared with schools, therapists, or other providers as appropriate. Many clients also find the report helpful as a reference point moving forward.

*Initial intake appointments and feedback sessions can be completed via telehealth when appropriate

*Test administration itself is required to be completed in person and is not offered virtually

1. Do you coordinate with schools or other providers? Yes, with appropriate consent. I highly value collaboration with therapists, physicians, and schools as it helps create a fuller, more useful picture of the individual

2. Do you take insurance? No. Psychological testing services are offered on a self-pay basis. This allows for a comprehensive, integrative assessment process that can be flexible rather than limited by insurance guidelines or narrowly defined diagnostic questions.

3. What is included in your costs for testing? I offer a flat rate for testing so you know what you are paying ahead of time. Testing fees reflect the time involved across interviews, test administration, scoring, interpretation, report writing, and feedback. Superbills are available for clients who wish to seek out-of-network reimbursement. More information about fees and insurance can be found in the general FAQ page, here.