When is Psychological Assessment conducted?
- Psychological assessment which may include testing and interviews are often called for to provide an understanding into the individual’s behavior, skills, thoughts and personality, mental state and level of functioning
- Assessment involves answering a referral question e.g. the stability of one’s mental state. Could be initiated by self, parent, teacher, doctor, social worker, lawyer etc.
- Assessment results will be useful for psychological treatment planning, and allows the referrer to make certain relevant decisions
- Each type of assessment may vary in length and include a combination of the following:
- Clinical interview
- Observation
- Rating scales and checklists,
- Psychometric tests
- Projectives
- Collateral information
- Feedback session and a brief report will be provided.
Types of Assessment
- Mental health and Diagnostic assessment
(For differential diagnosis & presence of any clinical disorder) - Forensic assessment on mental state and areas of functioning
(For reports presented to the courts on pre-morbid level of functioning and commission of alleged offence) - Intelligence and cognitive assessment
(Ruling out IQ or other cognitive impairment as causes of underperformance)- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV)
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)
- Test of Nonverbal Intelligence Fourth Edition (TONI-4) Raven’s
- Standard Progressive Matrices
- Neurodevelopmental assessment for Children
(e.g. Early identification of ADHD, Autism.. etc) - Career or Vocational Assessment (Exploring career interest & values that will assist in educational and career planning; Mid-life career change)
- Self-directed search
- Myers-Briggs Typology Indicator (Level 1 and 2)
- Checklists and rating scales on values and abilities
- All assessments are conducted in either English or Cantonese.
- Over sea’s English -speaking clients, expatriates , and Chinese educated abroad who prefer to express themselves in English would be provided with a valid and linguistically responsive assessment.
Computerized Cognitive Tests
- Increasing evidence has supported the inclusion of computerized cognitive tests that look at different cognitive functions of the brain when assessing for neuro-developmental problems.
- Test data alone may not be sufficient for generating any diagnostic statement. Their inclusion increases the sensitivity of the assessment, thus providing convergent data for supporting it.
ADHD Assessment
- The core symptoms of ADHD are cognitive in nature (inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity). The inclusion of the following cognitive tests will add sensitivity to the assessment.
- Spatial Working Memory (sustained attention)
- Rapid Visual Information Processing (working memory)
- Stop Signal Task (response inhibition)
Autistic Spectrum Disorder Assessment
- Individuals with ASD often exhibit cognitive deficits that reflect underlying abnormalities in brain structure and function.
- Cognitive tests that tap into the person’s executive functioning, planning, episodic memory and processing speed are highly relevant areas for evaluation
- Paired Associates Learning
- Spatial Working Memory
- Multitasking Test
- Emotion Recognition Task
- Match to Sample Visual Search
- Treatment using computerized practices on cognitive deficits based at home can also be incorporated as part of the remedial plan.