General Psychological Assessments
What is Psychological Assessment?
Psychological assessment is a comprehensive process used to better understand an individual’s emotional, psychological, personality, and behavioral functioning. It combines clinical interviews, standardized psychological testing, behavioral observations, and relevant history to help answer specific diagnostic and treatment questions.
At Aptiva Health, psychological assessments are individualized according to the reason for referral. The goal is not simply to identify symptoms, but to understand how those symptoms fit together, clarify diagnoses when appropriate, and provide useful recommendations for treatment and everyday functioning.
When Psychological Assessments Are Used
A psychological assessment may be appropriate when symptoms are complex, diagnoses are unclear, treatment has not been progressing as expected, or more detailed information is needed to guide care.
Depending on the referral question, an assessment may evaluate areas such as:
Depression, anxiety, and other emotional symptoms
Trauma and stress-related symptoms
Attention and concentration concerns
Personality and psychological functioning
Behavioral and emotional regulation
Diagnostic clarification
Functional difficulties related to psychological symptoms
Treatment planning and recommendations
Psychological assessments are completed by appropriately trained psychology providers using standardized and validated assessment instruments.
What Does a Psychological Assessment Include?
The specific evaluation varies depending on the individual and the questions being addressed, but may include:
Clinical Interview: A detailed discussion of current concerns, symptoms, relevant history, treatment history, and everyday functioning.
Standardized Psychological Testing: Validated psychological measures may be used to assess emotional symptoms, personality characteristics, attention, behavior, coping, and other areas relevant to the referral question.
Behavioral Observations: The provider considers the individual’s behavior, communication, effort, emotional presentation, and interactions throughout the evaluation.
Review of Relevant Records: Medical, psychological, educational, or other records may be reviewed when they provide useful information for understanding the individual’s history and current concerns.
Diagnostic Integration: Assessment findings are considered together with the clinical interview, history, observations, and available records rather than interpreting an individual test score in isolation.
Recommendations: When appropriate, the assessment results in recommendations for psychotherapy, psychiatric treatment, additional evaluation, accommodations, or other services.
Why is Psychological Assessment Used?
Psychological assessment can provide information that is difficult to obtain from a clinical interview alone. It may be used for:
Diagnostic Clarification: To help differentiate between psychological conditions that may have overlapping symptoms.
Treatment Planning: To identify symptoms, personality characteristics, strengths, and areas of difficulty that may influence treatment.
Complex Clinical Presentations: To better understand cases in which multiple psychological, medical, or situational factors may be contributing to the individual’s difficulties.
Evaluating Treatment Needs: To help determine what type or intensity of mental health treatment may be appropriate.
Functional Assessment: To better understand how psychological symptoms are affecting work, school, relationships, daily responsibilities, and overall functioning.
Monitoring and Reevaluation: In some circumstances, assessment may help evaluate changes in psychological functioning over time.
Psychological Assessment vs. Neuropsychological Assessment
Psychological and neuropsychological assessments overlap in some areas, but they answer different clinical questions.
Psychological assessment primarily examines emotional, psychological, personality, and behavioral functioning. Neuropsychological assessment places greater emphasis on cognitive abilities and brain-behavior relationships, including areas such as memory, attention, language, executive functioning, and other cognitive abilities.
The appropriate evaluation depends on the symptoms being experienced and the clinical question that needs to be answered. When the referral question is unclear, our Mental Wellness team can help determine which type of assessment is most appropriate.
Meet your Psychological Assessment Provider
Allison Recktenwald-Guelda, M.Ed., LPP,
Licensed Psychological Practitioner · Aptiva Health Mental Wellness · Louisville, Kentucky
Allison Recktenwald-Guelda, M.Ed., LPP, is a Licensed Psychological Practitioner with extensive experience in psychological assessment, neuropsychological evaluation, diagnostic clarification, and comprehensive report writing.
She has evaluated children, adolescents, adults, and older adults across behavioral health, pediatric psychiatry, neuroscience, and outpatient settings. Her broad clinical background helps her recognize how cognitive, emotional, behavioral, developmental, neurological, and physical health concerns can overlap.
Allison brings a thorough, collaborative, and individualized approach to Aptiva Health’s Mental Wellness team. She works with patients ages 6 and older, tailoring each evaluation to the patient’s concerns, history, and reason for referral.
Schedule a Psychological Assessment
If you or your referring provider would like more information about psychological assessment, contact Aptiva Health Mental Wellness to determine the appropriate next step.
