Psychological Testing and Assessment

What is psychological assessment?

Psychological assessments are essential for diagnosing conditions, especially when symptoms and challenges are complex. When someone has persistent sadness, anxiety, anger, or distress, a psychological evaluation can help identify the underlying issues to inform treatment and address mental health more effectively.

Psychological testing and assessment include:

1) assessing the frequency and intensity of symptoms or challenges

2) evaluating one's level of functioning in various cognitive, developmental, emotional, psychosocial, academic, and occupational domains

3) exploring the function of behaviors and symptoms

4) identifying one's strengths and areas of growth

5) enhancing self-understanding

6) Determining solutions or accommodations to the challenges one may experience at home, school, work, or society

Psychological assessment typically integrates psychological and cognitive test results with the client's developmental, psychiatric, medical, educational, and occupational history, as well as their family history, social environment, and behavioral observations.

Evaluations offered at Dr. Kan Psychological Services:

Diagnostic Evaluations to confirm or rule out mental health conditions such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, etc.
Neuropsychological Assessments to evaluate one's attention, memory, visuospatial skills, language, executive functioning, etc.
Personality Assessments to understand one's personality traits, coping mechanisms, and interpersonal functioning
Educational Assessments to assess for special learning disabilities or cognitive weaknesses that contribute to academic challenges
Pre-surgical psychological Evaluations to assess psychological readiness and potential risk factors for individuals undergoing major surgeries, such as bariatric surgery
Immigration Psychological Evaluation
- e.g., Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions (N-648), Hardship Evaluations (I-601 or I-601A), and evaluations for asylum, U Visa, T Visa, or VAWA application

* Dr. Kan focuses exclusively on conducting psychological evaluations for clinical purposes. This includes assessments to understand and address mental health concerns, provide therapeutic recommendations, and support overall well-being.

* Dr. Kan does not offer forensic psychological evaluations, including child custody evaluations. Forensic evaluations address legal matters such as those involved in lawsuits or court proceedings, and they require specialized training and expertise to ensure the process meets the legal standards and requirements for such cases. The only exception is Immigration-related Psychological Evaluations.

Dr. Kan's assessment approach

Dr. Kan's approach to conducting psychological assessments is largely collaborative, strength-based, therapeutic, and culturally informed. She works closely with parents, teachers, and providers to obtain a more accurate picture of her client's history, signs, and symptoms. In addition to diagnostic clarification and treatment planning, Dr. Kan's goals in psychological assessments are to bring new insight into the client's problems and to foster positive changes in clients. She also focuses on the client's strengths to increase their self-esteem and to use their strengths to overcome their limitations.

Additionally, Dr. Kan is mindful of her patient's socio-cultural background and is sensitive to diversity consideration. Being bilingual in English and Chinese, she also conducts assessments in Cantonese and Mandarin. Dr. Kan utilizes standardized and norm-based tests as well as non-standardized tests when appropriate. Her treatment recommendations are typically realistic and practical, with relevant resources in the community or in the school systems in mind.

What does a typical psychological assessment involve?

The assessment process generally involves:

1) a detailed clinical interview

2) records review (if any)

3) behavioral observations

4) test administrations

5) self-report or informant-report questionnaires or rating scales

6) scoring and interpretation of test results and rating scales

7) report-writing

8) a feedback session with the client

Depending on the referral question(s) and the nature of the psychological assessment, collateral interviews and classroom observations may also be conducted.

Test administrations for a comprehensive evaluation may require several sessions to complete. After administrating and scoring the tests and questionnaires, the testing psychologist has to interpret the results while integrating them with history and behavioral observation. The psychologist will then generate a hypothesis to answer the referral question(s) or explain specific challenges. In the assessment report, the testing psychologist will provide recommendations and/or accommodations at school or work.

What are some common referral questions?

In a developmental and cognitive context
- What is the child's overall level of cognitive ability?
- What are the child's cognitive strengths and weaknesses?
- Why does my child struggle to interact with his/her peers or make friends at school?
- Why does my child throw temper tantrums or react aggressively when he/she does not get his way?
- How can I get my child to follow directions better at home and school?
- Does my child have sensory processing issues (i.e., over- or under-sensitivity to sensory stimuli such as sounds, textures, lights, or touch)?
- How can I help my child manage his/her emotions better?
- How can parents support children with special needs?
In an academic or educational context
- At what level does the student function in reading, written language, and mathematics?
- What factors are interfering with the student's progress in school?
- Why do I procrastinate so much?
- Is it a learning disability or some psychological disorder that contributes to a student's slow academic progress and danger of grade retention?
- Does the child's behavioral problems at home or school warrant a diagnosis of ADHD? If so, what treatment is best for the child?
- What skills may the student learn to improve his/her learning ability?
- How is the student functioning socially and emotionally?
- Is the patient at risk for engaging in violent behavior(s) at school?
In a mental health treatment context
- Diagnosis remains ambiguous despite a thorough clinical interview and ongoing examination or observation. Please assess to clarify the diagnosis.
- For undetermined reasons, the patient has responded minimally or not at all to treatment intervention. Please evaluate and make relevant alterations to increase the likelihood of successful intervention.
- What level of care, method of therapy, or treatment strategies are most likely to be effective for the patient?
- What is the likely outcome of therapy for the patient?
- What problems are likely to occur during therapy?
- What is the patient's capacity for insight, coping style, resistance level, degree of functional impairment, and problem complexity?
  - Do I have depression, anxiety, or both?
  - Am I lazy or depressed?
  - How can I be less anxious?
  - Do I know how to be in a healthy relationship?
  - Why don't I cry?
In a medical context
- Are there any emotional factors associated with medical complaints or chronic pain?
- Is this patient a good candidate for bariatric surgery?
- How is this patient functioning as a result of possible brain abnormality? What is the extent of the deficit or disability?
- Is cognitive deterioration possible in memory, sequencing, abstract reasoning, spatial organization, and executive abilities?
- What is the emotional status of a neurologically impaired patient?
- What are some suggestions for treatment planning?

Psychological Assessment Fees:

Dr. Kan is not paneled with any government or commercial insurance plan but accepts cash payment. Some clients chooses to use their Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for their health insurance premiums. Other clients with a PPO plan may pay in full and seek reimbursement from their insurance provider afterward.

The fee for a psychological evaluation varies depending on the referral questions, the types of tests, and the amount of time used. Dr. Kan Psychological Services charges $220 per hour, and each evaluation typically includes a clinical interview, records review (if required), test administrations, scoring, data analysis, report writing, and a one-hour feedback session. Dr. Kan may conduct collateral interviews (with parents, teachers, spouses, or other relevant treating providers) and classroom observations and attend Individualized Educational Program (IEP) meetings if needed.

Dr. Kan offers a sliding scale fee or a low-cost fee to limited clients with financial difficulties (documentation required).

Special note to single parents with full or joint legal custody:

1) If parents have joint legal custody, both parents are required to provide written consent to the evaluation and attend the clinical interview and feedback session together (which can be done virtually).

2) If one parent has full legal custody, they are expected to provide legal/court documents for verification.

Free Consultation

To schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with Dr. Kan, click on the following link or contact her via email or phone number:

Online reservation: https://kanpsych.clientsecure.me/request/service (preferred)

Email: info@kanpsych.com

Telephone: (925)-238-8932 (voicemail)

Dr. Kan provides psychological assessments, psycho-educational testing, brief neuropsychological evaluations, and psychotherapy in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She is located in Dublin/Pleasanton and services children, adolescents, and adults in the entire Bay Area. She also offers telehealth services to clients in California and New York.

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