In addition to counseling, therapy, life coaching, and additional mental health services, Thriveworks McLean is proud to offer psychological testing and assessment services. These tests can help the individual—as well as their provider—get to know themselves better, from why they think and behave the way they do to what their greatest motivations, skills, and values are. Depending on the individual’s needs, the goal of psychological testing might be to reach a diagnosis and treatment plan or to simply inform their career choices.
Psychological testing can prove valuable at any stage of the counseling process. A psychologist or counselor might recommend psychological testing at the start of treatment or later on, such as if the client stops progressing. In any case, the psychologists here at Thriveworks McLean are here to help and support you. They can help you manage a mental health disorder (such as autism or ADHD) and also supplement your mission to better understand yourself.
If you’re in search of psychological testing, reach out to Thriveworks McLean today. You can call (571) 589-4042 to speak with a scheduling specialist and book your appointment. Remember: Thriveworks McLean has both in-person and online appointments available for psychological testing. If you’d prefer to complete these tests from home, and the test allows you to, you are more than welcome to.
What Is Psychological Testing? How Does It Work?
Psychological testing and assessment services measure an individual’s traits, thought processes, level of cognitive functioning, and/or other capacities. The counselors, therapists, and psychologists at Thriveworks McLean might use several forms of testing. For example, they can derive helpful information from…
- Formal psychological assessment
- Behavioral observation
- Interviews (conducted with the individual as well as their caretaker(s) or teacher(s)
As Sean Hayes PsyD from Thriveworks Counseling in Sterling, VA explains, oftentimes the individual’s responses are compared with others’ responses: “Psychological testing is the use of empirically-validated tests to better understand a person and how to help them. Many tests compare a given client’s responses to responses previously given by a group of people. We already know something about those individuals who gave the previous responses and what we know about them helps us to learn more about the client being tested.”
In summary, these tests come in various forms—some are direct observations of one’s behaviors and decisions, while others are self-reports in the form of a survey. In any case, these assessments can help the individual to live a happier, more successful life moving forward. For example, personality assessments can lead to clinical diagnosis and the development of treatment for the given personality disorder. And gifted placement evaluations can lead to acceptance into the desired private school. We’ll delve deeper below.
What Kind of Psychological Testing Is Offered at Thriveworks McLean?
There are multiple psychological tests offered here at Thriveworks McLean. Here’s a little bit about each type of assessment:
- Cognitive functioning and intelligence testing: Cognitive tests can analyze potential problems with cognition, such as thinking, memory, language, or judgment errors. Intelligence testing looks more specifically at an individual’s IQ (or intelligence quotient).
- Differential diagnosis assessments: These assessments prove valuable when an individual has symptoms that are common in many different illnesses. For example, many different mental health disorders can cause sleep problems, lack of concentration, and changes in appetite. Differential diagnosis assessments consider all possibilities and work to narrow them down until an accurate diagnosis becomes apparent.
- Learning and academic functioning assessments: These tests function to identify (or rule out) learning disorders and developmental delays. They can involve academic testing in math, writing, and reading, as well as in-depth evaluation related to cognitive functioning relative to learning.
- School admissions testing: These tests simply assess a student’s readiness to enroll at an independent or private school and can inform the school’s decision.
- Gifted placement evaluations: Gifted placement evaluations provide an objective for identifying gifted children. This often involves ability and achievement tests; an individual’s performance is compared to others in their age group.
- Personality assessments: These assessments evaluate one’s personality, typically using self-reports and surveys. Personality assessments can inform diagnosis of a personality disorder and also help the individual to better understand their strengths as well as their weaknesses.
If you’re looking for psychological testing and assessment services for yourself or a loved one, consider scheduling an appointment at Thriveworks McLean. Our psychologists and therapists can lead these assessments in an in-person appointment or online appointment. Additionally, we can help children and adults of many ages, education, and functioning.
Schedule Psychological Testing and Assessment Services at Thriveworks McLean, VA
Thriveworks Mclean, VA has counselors, therapists, and psychologists who are able to conduct these psychological testing services. These can help many different people, such as those who need cognitive testing due to strange delays in memory; those looking for ADHD or autism testing; those who are looking to better understand their personality strengths and weaknesses; and those who are looking to take school admissions or gifted placement tests.
If you’re interested in scheduling psychologists tests or assessments, reach out to Thriveworks McLean, VA. Just call (571) 589-4042 and we will get you scheduled for your testing either in-person or online.
