Psychoeducational Evaluations
Equilibria’s Psychoeducational Evaluation Services
When children and adults are having difficulty in school or work with learning-based activities, they often benefit from an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses to help develop more effective learning strategies. To assist in this analysis, Equilibria offers comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation services conducted by certified school and/or clinical psychologists.
Below are some examples of why an individual would seek a psychoeducational evaluation service from Equilibria:
- Learning disorder evaluation
- ADHD or ADD evaluation
- Autism spectrum disorder evaluation
- Academic evaluation
- Giftedness evaluation
- Accommodation evaluation
- Entrance into enrichment programs
- Appropriate academic settings
- Special accommodations
- School readiness
- School admission
- Intellectual functioning
- Career or college guidance
- Vocational testing
- Academic assessment
- ADHD assessment and ADD assessment
- Learning disorder evaluation
- Autism spectrum disorder
The Evaluation Process
Although all evaluations are tailored to meet our client’s needs, there are some standard processes involved during psychoeducational evaluation.
If you are seeking educational evaluation service through Equilibria, you can expect to follow this general process:
1. Scheduling A Psychological Test
When calling to schedule an appointment for psychoeducational evaluation, we begin by asking you questions to discern the purpose of the evaluation. These initial questions ensure we match you with the appropriate psychologist from our Philadelphia office.
At times, we may have the psychologist speak directly with you to gather more information and ensure that you are comfortable with the person doing the evaluation.
2. Psychoeducational Test Clinical Interview
Incredibly valuable information is gathered during a comprehensive clinical interview including:
- Personal and childhood history
- Family history and current functioning
- Medical history and current functioning
- Developmental history
- Mental health history and current functioning
- Educational and work history and current functioning
- Relationship/social history and current functioning
- Substance use history and current functioning
- Legal history and current functioning
- Recent experiences that are impacting current functioning
- Other pertinent information related to psychological evaluation
When the evaluation is for a child or teen, interviews are conducted not only with the child but with the child’s caregivers and sometimes with other individuals important to the child’s current functioning (e.g., teachers, other caretakers).
In general, clinical interviews are more open and less structured than formal evaluations because this part of the evaluation allows for the client to convey information and experiences in their own words.
The clinical interview usually occurs at the beginning of the psychological assessment or evaluation in order to establish a good understanding of a person’s history and recent experiences that are bringing them in for the evaluation.
Types of Psychoeducational Tests
There are a number of psychological tests that can be administered throughout the process of Equilibria’s educational evaluation service. Psychoeducational tests are designed to assess an aspect of a person’s knowledge, skill, personality, intelligence, learning style, achievement, or a certain behavior.
Normed-Psychological Tests
Normed-psychological tests provide information for how the person being tested measures compared to other individuals who have taken the test before and are included in the norming sample. This provides, as much as possible, a comparison between test takers.
Some examples of normed tests include:
- IQ tests
- Achievement tests
- Personality tests (e.g., MMPI, MCMI)
- Attention and concentration tests
- Neuropsychological tests
Non-Normed Referenced Tests
In addition to the standardized, norm-referenced tests, psychologists may choose to administer one or more non-normed referenced tests, which are designed to measure a person’s level of functioning in the areas covered by the test. These tests can provide a wealth of information to the psychologist doing the evaluation.
Some examples may include:
- Behavioral checklists
- Symptom checklists
- Some projective tests
Psychoeducational Evaluation Observations
Sometimes, a psychologist will request to observe the individual being tested in a natural setting. This observation can be incredibly valuable to the psychologist because it allows them to understand the person in different contexts.
For example, the psychologist may want to see if a person behaves differently at work or at school than at home; or assess how the person behaves around his/her peers; or find out if the person is treated differently than other people at work or at school.
This kind of information can enrich the assessment and help the evaluator get a well-rounded picture of the person being assessed and allow for very targeted treatment recommendations.
Test Report and Feedback
Once all the information is gathered, the psychologist creates a comprehensive and integrated assessment of the individual, usually creating a thorough report with recommendations. Some of these recommendations will be home-based recommendations and others will be academic or vocational-based.
This information is also communicated via a feedback session with the client. With permission from the client (or guardian), feedback may also be given to a school or vocational setting.
A psychoeducational assessment is never focused on a single test score or number. Every person has a range of competencies that can be evaluated through a number of methods. A psychologist is there to evaluate the competencies as well as the limitations of the person, and report on them in an objective but helpful manner.
Next Steps Following a Psychoeducational Test
Following the evaluation, recommendations are then made with all the information gathered in order to provide specific strategies tailored to the client’s individual learning needs and/or behavioral issues.
Scheduling an Appointment for Psychoeducational Evaluation Service
To find out more about Equilibria’s Psychoeducational Evaluation services in the Philadelphia area or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at (267) 861-3685, Option 1; or get in touch via our contact form.
